Patent Application
20110241967
The present disclosure relates generally to antenna assemblies suitable for use with portable communications devices, and more particularly to antenna assemblies having systems for suppressing, for example, electrostatic discharge and/or radiated spurious emissions.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Portable communications devices operable for providing multiple different modes of operation are becoming increasingly prevalent. For example, mobile phones may commonly support, among other modes of operation, voice communication modes over the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) system, wireless local area network (WLAN) connection modes, and Bluetooth communication modes.
While these devices are very useful, the wireless modes used by such devices can cause mutual interference between modes of operation. For example, Bluetooth communications and spur harmonics from some GSM channels can interfere with the WLAN connections; WLAN transmitters can interfere with GSM receivers; GSM transmitters can interference with WLAN receivers; etc. Unfortunately, this interference can significantly inhibit the operational effectiveness of these devices.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
The present disclosure relates generally to antenna assemblies suitable for use with portable communications devices, and more particularly to systems for filtering cross-talk, protecting against electrostatic discharge, and/or suppressing radiated spurious emissions in an antenna assembly. In an exemplary embodiment, an electronics protection system may include first and second inductors disposed in series generally between the antenna element and the amplifier. First and second diodes may be disposed generally between the first and second inductors.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring now to the drawings,
As shown in
The antenna assembly 104 generally includes an antenna element 106 (e.g., a radiator, etc.), an amplifier 112, and an electronics protection system or means 110 positioned or interposed generally between the antenna element 106 and the amplifier 112. As will be described in more detail hereinafter, the electronics protection system 110 includes a circuit configuration operable to filter cross-talk, protect against ESD, and/or suppress RSE generally within the portable communications device 100, with little or no compromise to performance of the device 100. The antenna assembly 104 may include one or more additional components as desired within the scope of the present disclosure, such as, for example, capacitors (e.g., one or more DC-blocking capacitors disposed adjacent the amplifier 112, antenna element matching capacitors, etc.), inductors (e.g., antenna element matching inductors, etc.), receivers (e.g., FM receivers, etc.), etc.
In the illustrated embodiment of
The amplifier 112 may include any suitable amplifier (e.g., regardless of transistor technology, etc.), for example, a high impedance low noise amplifier (LNA), such as a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) LNA, bipolar junction transistor (BJT) LNA, heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) LNA, field effect transistor (FET) LNA, complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) LNA, etc. within the scope of the present disclosure. And, the amplifier 112 can be coupled to the antenna element 106 via the electronics protection system 110 as desired. In other example embodiments, portable communications devices may include more than one amplifier within the scope of the present disclosure.
The illustrated electronics protection system 110 generally includes first and second anti-parallel diodes 116 and 118 (e.g., Schottky diodes, ESD diodes, etc.) coupled to grounds 120 and 122, respectively, without any intervening components (e.g., inductors, capacitors, etc.) between the diodes 116 and 118. The electronics protection system 110 also includes first and second inductors 124, 126 disposed in series generally between the antenna element 106 and the amplifier 112.
The first inductor 124 is located generally adjacent the antenna element 106. The second inductor 126 is located generally adjacent the amplifier 112. Stated differently, the first inductor 124 is closer to the antenna element 106 than is the second inductor 126, which, in turn, is closer to the amplifier 112 than is the first inductor 124. Accordingly, the first inductor 124 is between the antenna element 106 and second inductor 126, whereas the second inductor 126 is between the amplifier 112 and the first inductor 124. Also in this illustrated embodiment, there are no intervening components or circuits (e.g., capacitors, inductors, matching circuits, etc.) directly between the first inductor 124 and antenna element 106. Likewise, there are intervening components or circuits (e.g., capacitors, inductors, matching circuits, etc.) directly between the second inductor 126 and amplifier 112. In other embodiments, one or more components and/or circuits may be interposed or positioned between the first inductor 124 and antenna element 106 and/or between the second inductor 126 and amplifier 112.
The first and second anti-parallel diodes 116 and 118 are generally coupled in shunt at a location generally between the first and second inductors 124 and 126. In the illustrated embodiment, the electronics protection system 110 is thus generally bound on both sides by high impedance components (e.g., the antenna element 106 on one side and the amplifier 112 on the other side, etc.) within the operating frequency band of the portable communications device 100. Also in the illustrated embodiment, the first and/or second inductors 124 and/or 126 may provide inductance operation values of about 50 nanoHenries (nH) to about 100 nH. By way of example only, the first inductor 124 may provide inductance operation values of about 50 nH to about 100 nH, and the second inductor 126 may provide inductance operation values of about 91 nH. However, it should be appreciated that inductors providing other inductance operation values may be used within the scope of the present disclosure.
In operation of the electronics protection system 110, the first and second anti-parallel diodes 116 and 118 operate to provide ESD protection for the amplifier 112. More particularly, the anti-parallel diodes 116 and 118 operate to short unwanted voltages (e.g., both positive and negative voltages, etc.) associated with ESD to grounds 120 and 122. And, the first inductor 124 operates (with minimal losses or at least reduced losses) to suppress unwanted high frequency signals from reaching the first and second anti-parallel diodes 116 and 118, and to suppress unwanted spur harmonics generated by the first and second anti-parallel diodes 116 and 118 (e.g., spur harmonics associated with harmonic frequency content generated by non-linearities in the anti-parallel diodes 116 and 118 caused by GSM/Bluetooth interactions, etc.) from, for example, radiating to the antenna element 106, etc. And, the second inductor 126 operates (with minimal losses or at least reduced losses) to suppress unwanted high frequency signals from GSM or Bluetooth interactions, or the high frequency content of ESD pulses, from, for example, reaching the amplifier 112, etc.
As shown in
The illustrated portable communications device 200 also generally includes a high impedance low noise amplifier (LNA) 212 adjacent the FM receiver 232 and a matching capacitor 234 coupled to ground 236. The LNA 212 operates to amplify signals received by the antenna element 206 and transmitted to the FM receiver 232. And, the matching capacitor 234 operates to provide, for example, impedance matching (e.g., high impedance and parallel resonance together with the half-loop antenna element 206, etc.) for the antenna assembly 204 (e.g., for the half-loop antenna element 206 of the antenna assembly 204, etc.), etc.
The illustrated antenna assembly 204 further generally includes an electronics protection system 210 operable for providing cross-talk filtering to and/or ESD protection to and/or RSE suppression for the antenna assembly 204. In the illustrated embodiment, the electronics protection system 210 is disposed generally within the portable communications device 200 between the matching capacitor 234 and the LNA 212, generally where the second end portion of the antenna element 206 couples to the LNA 212 and FM receiver 232.
The illustrated electronics protection system 210 generally includes first and second anti-parallel diodes 216 and 218 (e.g., Schottky diodes, ESD diodes, etc.) coupled to grounds 220 and 222, respectively, without any intervening components (e.g., inductors, capacitors, etc.) between the diodes 216 and 218. A first inductor 224 is located adjacent the matching capacitor 234. A second inductor 226 is located adjacent the LNA 212. Stated differently, the first inductor 224 is closer to the matching capacitor 234 than is the second inductor 226, which, in turn, is closer to the LNA 212 than is the first inductor 224. Accordingly, the first inductor 224 is between the matching capacitor 234 and second inductor 226, whereas the second inductor 226 is between the LNA 212 and the first inductor 224.
And, the first and second anti-parallel diodes 216 and 218 are disposed generally between the first and second inductors 224 and 226 (e.g., substantially where the antenna element 206 couples to the LNA 212 and FM receiver 232, etc.). The first and second anti-parallel diodes 216 and 218 are generally coupled in shunt and are disposed generally in parallel with the matching capacitor 234. In the illustrated embodiment, the first and/or second inductors 224 and/226 may provide inductance operation values of about 50 nH to about 100 nH. By way of example only, the first inductor 224 may provide inductance operation values of about 50 nH to about 100 nH, and the second inductor 226 may provide inductance operation values of about 91 nH. However, it should be appreciated that inductors providing other inductance operation values may be used within the scope of the present disclosure.
It should be appreciated that the portable communications device 200 may also include one or more DC-blocking capacitors disposed adjacent the LNA 212 and/or FM receiver 232 as desired (and as generally known in the art). For example, a DC-blocking capacitor may be disposed generally between the second inductor 226 of the electronics protection system 210 and the LNA 212 and/or between the LNA 212 and the FM receiver 232 within the scope of the present disclosure.
In operation of the electronics protection system 210, the first and second anti-parallel diodes 216 and 218 operate to provide ESD protection for the LNA 212. More particularly, the anti-parallel diodes 216 and 218 operate to short unwanted voltages (e.g., both positive and negative voltages, etc.) associated with ESD to grounds 220 and 222. The first inductor 224 operates to suppress unwanted high frequency signals from reaching the first and second anti-parallel diodes 216 and 218, and to suppress unwanted spur harmonics generated by the first and second anti-parallel diodes 216 and 218 (e.g., spur harmonics associated with harmonic frequency content generated by non-linearities in the anti-parallel diodes 216 and 218 caused by GSM/Bluetooth interactions, etc.) from, for example, radiating to the matching capacitor 234, etc. And, the second inductor 226 operates to suppress unwanted high frequency signals from GSM or Bluetooth interactions, or the high frequency content of ESD pulses, from, for example, reaching the LNA 212 and FM receiver 232, etc.
As shown in
The illustrated portable communications device 300 also generally includes a high impedance LNA 312 adjacent the FM receiver 332 and a matching inductor 340 coupled to ground 342. The LNA 312 operates to amplify signals received by the antenna element 306 and transmitted to the FM receiver 332. And, the matching inductor 340 operates to provide, for example, impedance matching (e.g., high impedance and parallel resonance together with the monopole antenna element 306, etc.) for the antenna assembly 304 (e.g., for the monopole antenna element 306 of the antenna assembly 304, etc.), etc.
The illustrated antenna assembly 304 further generally includes an electronics protection system 310 operable for providing cross-talk filtering to and/or ESD protection to and/or RSE suppression for the antenna assembly 304. In the illustrated embodiment, the electronics protection system 310 is disposed generally within the portable communications device 300 between the matching inductor 340 and the LNA 312, generally where the second end portion of the antenna element 306 couples to the LNA 312 and FM receiver 332.
The illustrated electronics protection system 310 generally includes first and second anti-parallel diodes 316 and 318 (e.g., Schottky diodes, ESD diodes, etc.) coupled to grounds 320 and 322, respectively, without any intervening components (e.g., inductors, capacitors, etc.) between the diodes 316 and 318. A first inductor 324 is located adjacent the matching inductor 340. A second inductor 326 is located adjacent the LNA 312. Stated differently, the first inductor 324 is closer to the matching inductor 340 than is the second inductor 326, which, in turn, is closer to the LNA 312 than is the first inductor 324. Accordingly, the first inductor 324 is between the matching inductor 340 and second inductor 326, whereas the second inductor 326 is between the LNA 312 and the first inductor 324.
And, the first and second anti-parallel diodes 316 and 318 are disposed generally between the first and second inductors 324 and 326 (e.g., substantially where the antenna element 306 couples to the LNA 312 and FM receiver 332, etc.). The first and second anti-parallel diodes 316 and 318 are generally coupled in shunt and are disposed generally in parallel with the matching inductor 340. In the illustrated embodiment, the first and/or second inductors 324 and/326 may provide inductance operation values of about 50 nH to about 100 nH. By way of example only, the first inductor 324 may provide inductance operation values of about 50 nH to about 100 nH, and the second inductor 326 may provide inductance operation values of about 91 nH. However, it should be appreciated that inductors providing other inductance operation values may be used within the scope of the present disclosure.
It should be appreciated that the portable communications device 300 may also include one or more DC-blocking capacitors disposed adjacent the LNA 312 and/or FM receiver 332 as desired (and as generally known in the art). For example, a DC-blocking capacitor may be disposed generally between the second inductor 326 of the electronics protection system 310 and the LNA 312 and/or between the LNA 312 and the FM receiver 332 within the scope of the present disclosure.
In operation of the electronics protection system 310, the first and second anti-parallel diodes 316 and 318 operate to provide ESD protection for the LNA 312. More particularly, the anti-parallel diodes 316 and 318 operate to short unwanted voltages (e.g., both positive and negative voltages, etc.) associated with ESD to grounds 320 and 322. The first inductor 324 operates to suppress unwanted high frequency signals from reaching the first and second anti-parallel diodes 316 and 318, and to suppress unwanted spur harmonics generated by the first and second anti-parallel diodes 316 and 318 (e.g., spur harmonics associated with harmonic frequency content generated by non-linearities in the anti-parallel diodes 316 and 318 caused by GSM/Bluetooth interactions, etc.) from, for example, radiating to the matching inductor 340, etc. And, the second inductor 326 operates to suppress unwanted high frequency signals from GSM or Bluetooth interactions, or the high frequency content of ESD pulses, from, for example, reaching the LNA 312 and FM receiver 332, etc.
As shown in
The antenna assembly 504 may include one or more suitable antenna elements such as, for example, half-loop antenna elements, monopole antenna elements, etc. within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, antenna elements may include generally electrically short antenna elements (e.g., as compared to a free-space wavelength of the antenna elements, etc.) with high impedances in the operating frequency bands of the portable communications devices in which they are included (e.g., the FM operating frequency band, etc.). In the illustrated embodiment of
The amplifier 512 may include any suitable amplifier (e.g., regardless of transistor technology, etc.), for example, a high impedance low noise amplifier (LNA), such as a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) LNA, bipolar junction transistor (BJT) LNA, heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) LNA, field effect transistor (FET) LNA, complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) LNA, etc. within the scope of the present disclosure. And, the amplifier 512 can be coupled to the antenna element 506 via the electronics protection system 510 as desired. In other example embodiments, portable communications devices may include more than one amplifier within the scope of the present disclosure.
With further regard to the electronics protection system 510, it generally includes a circuit configuration operable to filter cross-talk, protect against ESD, and/or suppress RSE generally within the portable communications device 500, with little or no compromise to performance of the device 500. The antenna assembly 504 may include one or more additional components as desired within the scope of the present disclosure, such as, for example, capacitors (e.g., one or more DC-blocking capacitors disposed adjacent the amplifier 512, antenna element matching capacitors 234, etc.), inductors (e.g., antenna element matching inductors 340, etc.), receivers (e.g., FM receivers 232, 332, etc.), etc.
In this particular embodiment illustrated in
With continued reference to
The first and second anti-parallel diodes 516 and 518 are generally coupled in shunt at a location generally between the first and second inductors 524 and 526. In the illustrated embodiment, the electronics protection system 510 is thus generally bound on both sides by high impedance components (e.g., the antenna element 506 on one side and the amplifier 512 on the other side, etc.) within the operating frequency band of the portable communications device 500. Also in the illustrated embodiment, the first and/or second inductors 524 and/or 526 may provide inductance operation values of about 50 nanoHenries (nH) to about 100 nH. By way of example only, the first inductor 524 may provide inductance operation values of about 56 nH, and the second inductor 526 may provide inductance operation values of about 100 nH. However, it should be appreciated that inductors providing other inductance operation values may be used within the scope of the present disclosure.
As noted above, parasitic capacitance 544, 546 is associated with each inductor 524, 526, respectively. In
The inventors have recognized that using inductors configured to have parasitic capacitance as explained above advantageously allows the overall component count to be reduced. It also helps ensure that each inductance value is maximized (or increased), which, in turn, maximizes (or increases) the bandwidth over which the inductor having parasitic capacitance is high-impedance. Even so, alternative embodiments may instead include first and second capacitors may be coupled to the respective first and second inductors 524, 526 to provide the capacitance associated with each inductor.
In an example embodiment, the inductor 526 closest to the low noise amplifier 512 may be a 100 nH inductor of LQG-type (or equivalent) having a self-resonance close to GSM 850/900 Tx (transmission) bands and that provides strong suppression of GSM 850/900 cross-talk. Continuing with this example embodiment, the inductor 524 closest to the antenna 506 may be a 56 nH inductor of LQW-type (or equivalent) having a self-resonance close to GSM 1800/1900 Tx (transmission) bands and that provides strong suppression of GSM 1800/1900 cross-talk while preventing (or at least inhibiting) harmonics of GSM 850/900 created by the diodes 516, 518 from being radiated. Also in this example embodiment, this arrangement of the 56 nH inductor 524, diodes 516, 518, 100 nH inductor 526, and parasitic capacitance 544, 546 filters and clamps ESD voltages, while being transparent (low impedance) at FM frequencies.
In operation of the electronics protection system 510, the first and second anti-parallel diodes 516 and 518 operate to provide ESD protection for the amplifier 512. More particularly, the anti-parallel diodes 516 and 518 operate to short unwanted voltages (e.g., both positive and negative voltages, etc.) associated with ESD to grounds 520 and 522. And, the first inductor 524 operates (with minimal losses or at least reduced losses) to suppress unwanted high frequency signals (e.g., suppression of GSM 1800/1900 cross-talk, etc.) from reaching the first and second anti-parallel diodes 516 and 518, and to suppress unwanted spur harmonics generated by the first and second anti-parallel diodes 116 and 118 (e.g., spur harmonics associated with harmonic frequency content generated by non-linearities in the anti-parallel diodes 516 and 518 caused by GSM 850/900 and Bluetooth interactions, etc.) from, for example, radiating to the antenna element 506, etc. And, the second inductor 526 operates (with minimal losses or at least reduced losses) to suppress unwanted high frequency signals (e.g., GSM 850/900 cross-talk, from GSM or Bluetooth interactions, etc.) or the high frequency content of ESD pulses from, for example, reaching the amplifier 512, etc.
Operational features relating to the inductors 524, 526 of the electronics protection system 510 is generally shown in
Line 556 in
Line 558 in
In another example embodiment of the present disclosure, a portable communications device is configured to support FM, Bluetooth, and WLAN modes. In this embodiment, 0 dBm power at 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) was fed to an antenna element of the device without anti-parallel diodes of an electronics protection system of the device affecting the Bluetooth efficiency of the device, and without the Bluetooth cross-talk affecting FM sensitivity. In this example, dBm indicates power measurement relative to 1 milliwatt such that 0 dBm means no change from 1 milliwatt and thus 0 dBm is the power level corresponding to a power of exactly 1 milliwatt.
It should be appreciated that in the illustrated antenna assemblies (e.g., 104, 204, 304, 504, etc.) of the present disclosure, the inductors (e.g., 124 and 126, 224 and 226, 324 and 326, 524 and 526, etc.) (e.g., the low quality factor (Q) components, etc.) of the electronics protection systems (e.g., 110, 210, 310, 510, etc.) are located in generally high impedance nodes (e.g., between the antenna elements (e.g., 106, 206, 306, 506, etc.) and amplifiers (e.g., 112, 212, 312, 512, etc.) at FM frequencies, thereby effectively canceling their impact on the noise properties of the amplifiers (e.g., 112, 212, 312, 512, etc.). This can help provide for antenna matching, ESD protection, RSE suppression (e.g., cancelation, etc.), and reductions of (e.g., filtering of, etc.) electromagnetic (EM) cross-talk, with little or no negative impact on antenna assembly performance. For example, the electronics protection systems (e.g., 110, 210, 310, 510, etc.) of the present disclosure may provide protection against, for example, multiple human body model (HBM) pulses of upwards of about 8 kilovolts (kV) discharged at the antenna elements (e.g., 106, 206, 306, 506, etc.) without failure. Moreover, the illustrated electronics protection systems (e.g., 110, 210, 310, 510, etc.) can filter high-frequency signals coupled from nearby high-power transmitters (e.g. cellular antennas, etc.) from reaching, for example, the amplifiers (e.g., 112, 212, 312, 512, etc.) and/or the FM receivers (e.g., 232, 332, etc.), etc.
It should also be appreciated that the portable communications devices (e.g., 100, 200, 300, 500, etc.) of the present disclosure can also satisfy ESD standards as necessary without compromising the ESD protection or antenna performance. For example, the portable communications devices (e.g., 100, 200, 300, 500, etc.) can satisfy such ESD standards as International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard 61000-4-2, which requires protecting against a +−8 kV contact discharges according to the Human Body Model (HBM).
It should further be appreciated that portable communications devices (e.g., 100, 200, 300, 500, etc.) of the present disclosure can also satisfy RSE standards as necessary without compromising the ESD protection or antenna performance. For example, the portable communications devices (e.g., 100, 200, 300, 500, etc.) can satisfy such RSE standards as 47 CFR 15.209 (FCC regulation that requires all measured radiated harmonics up to, and including, the tenth (or up to 40 GHz, whichever is lowest) to be below 54 dBuV/m at 3 meters distance); European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) standards (ETSI EN 300 609 that requires −30 dBm Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) or 1.83 mV/m at 3 meters distance); etc. In this paragraph, dBuV/m refers to the decibel ratio referenced to one a microvolt per meter. An exemplary embodiments disclosed herein may be used as a lossless distributed filter for internal active FM half-loop and/or monopole antennas.
In addition, exemplary embodiments of the inventors' antenna assemblies may also be useful in portable communication devices in which radiators are re-used by complementary systems (e.g., Bluetooth, wireless local area network (WLAN), a global positioning system (GPS), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), etc) depends on this solution. As explained above, portable communications devices operable for providing multiple different modes of operation are becoming increasingly prevalent. But the wireless modes used by conventional devices can cause mutual interference between modes of operation, which interference can significantly inhibit the operational effectiveness of these devices. As disclosed herein, exemplary embodiments of the inventors antenna assemblies' generally include an electronics protection system operable for filtering cross-talk and/or for protecting against electrostatic discharge and/or for suppressing radiated spurious emissions. Accordingly, exemplary embodiments include a multi-purpose circuit solution disposed or sandwiched between a high-impedance radiator and a high-impedance amplifier, and which may provide one or more of the following features:
The following examples are merely illustrative, and do not limit this disclosure in any way.
In one example, in-band gain for FM applications was evaluated for two antenna assemblies, one antenna assembly having an electronics protection system according to the present disclosure and one antenna assembly not having such an electronics protection system. Gain for the antenna assembly having the electronics protection system is indicated by line graph 450, and gain for the antenna assembly not having such an electronics protection system is indicated by line graph 452. As shown in
In another example, contact discharges (e.g., ESD contact discharges, etc.) were applied to two antenna assemblies, one antenna assembly having an electronics protection system according to the present disclosure and one antenna assembly not having such an electronics protection system. The antenna assembly having the electronics protection system (e.g., an amplifier of the antenna assembly, etc.) was able to withstand a greater than 8 kV contact discharge (e.g., according to HBM standards, etc.), while the antenna assembly not having the electronics protection system was able to withstand only a 200 volt (V) contact discharge (e.g., according to HBM standards, etc.).
Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and operational methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on”, “engaged to”, “connected to” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to”, “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
The disclosure herein of particular values and particular ranges of values for given parameters are not exclusive of other values and ranges of values that may be useful in one or more of the examples disclosed herein. Moreover, it is envisioned that any two particular values for a specific parameter stated herein may define the endpoints of a range of values that may be suitable for the given parameter. The disclosure of a first value and a second value for a given parameter can be interpreted as disclosing that any value between the first and second values could also be employed for the given parameter. Similarly, it is envisioned that disclosure of two or more ranges of values for a parameter (whether such ranges are nested, overlapping or distinct) subsume all possible combination of ranges for the value that might be claimed using endpoints of the disclosed ranges.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the invention, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.
This application is continuation-in-part of PCT International Application PCT/IB2009/007320 filed Nov. 4, 2009 (now published as WO 2010/070401) which, in turn, claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/139,615 filed Dec. 21, 2008 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/139,882 filed Dec. 22, 2008. The entire disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61139615 | Dec 2008 | US | |
| 61139882 | Dec 2008 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/IB2009/007320 | Nov 2009 | US |
| Child | 13162203 | US |
