Patent Application
20130267224
This application relates generally to communications, and more particularly to handing over communications between cellular and non-cellular communications protocols.
Typical indoor technology used for communication includes, for example, non-cellular communications such as Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), global positioning system (GPS), Bluetooth, etc., as well as cellular communications such as the use of femto cells. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks. For example, while Wi-Fi is widely used, a user equipment (UE) should have its Wi-Fi modem turned on to be detected by an access point. Wi-Fi requires significant power consumption on the handset, thus, so many mobile users do not keep the Wi-Fi modem turned on at all times. Also, to connect to a public Wi-Fi access point (AP), a UE would need to be aware of the location's SSID ahead of time. GPS and Bluetooth-based solutions have similar drawbacks. Femto-based solutions are capable of providing seamless detection without manually activating an application. However, location-wide femto deployment could be very expensive since multiple femto cells may be needed to cover a location.
The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nor delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
In accordance with some aspects, a method for managing communications is described herein. The method includes receiving, at a server, a request to register a user equipment (UE). The method further includes providing an instruction to trigger activation of a non-cellular modem on the UE. In addition, the method includes receiving a notification that the UE has established communication with a serving access point (AP of a non-cellular communication protocol. The serving AP may be one of one or more non-cellular APs. The method may also include providing an instruction to deactivate a cellular modem on the UE. In some aspects, the method may also include triggering the launch of a mobile application on the UE.
In accordance with some aspects, a computer program product is described herein. The computer program product includes a computer-readable medium that includes at least one instruction for causing a computer to receive a request to register a UE. The computer-readable medium also includes at least one instruction for causing the computer to provide an instruction to trigger activation of a non-cellular modem on the UE. In addition, the computer-readable medium may include instructions for causing the computer to receive a notification that the UE has established communication with a serving AP of a non-cellular communication protocol, and to provide an instruction to deactivate a cellular modem on the UE.
In accordance with some aspects, an apparatus is described herein that includes means for receiving a request to register a UE. The apparatus also includes means for providing an instruction to trigger activation of a non-cellular modem on the UE. In addition, the apparatus includes means for receiving a notification that the UE has established communication with a serving AP of a non-cellular communication protocol. The apparatus may also include means for providing an instruction to deactivate a cellular modem on the UE.
In accordance with some aspects, an apparatus for managing communications is described herein. The apparatus includes at least one processor. The processor may be configured to receive a request to register a UE and to provide an instruction to trigger activation of a non-cellular modem on the UE. The processor may be further configured to receive a notification that the UE has established communication with a serving AP of a non-cellular communication protocol and to provide an instruction to deactivate a cellular modem on the UE. The apparatus may also include a memory coupled to the at least one processor.
In accordance with some aspects, a method for managing communications at a UE is described herein. The method may include receiving an instruction to trigger activation of a non-cellular modem. The instruction to trigger the activation of the non-cellular modem may be received via a cellular AP. The method may also include establishing non-cellular communication with a server via a first non-cellular AP. The first non-cellular AP may be one of one or more non-cellular APs, and may have an overlapping coverage area with a cellular AP. The method further includes receiving an instruction to deactivate a cellular modem and communicating with the server via the non-cellular modem.
In accordance with some aspects, a computer program product is described herein. The computer program product includes a computer-readable medium that comprises at least one instruction for causing a computer to receive an instruction to trigger activation of a non-cellular modem. The instruction to trigger activation of the non-cellular modem may be received via a cellular AP. The computer-readable medium may also include at least one instruction for causing the computer to establish non-cellular communication with a server via a first non-cellular AP. The first non-cellular AP may be one of one or more non-cellular APs, and may have an overlapping coverage area with a cellular AP. The computer-readable medium further includes at least one instruction for causing the computer to receive an instruction to deactivate a cellular modem and at least one instruction for causing the computer to communicate with the server via the non-cellular modem.
In accordance with some aspects, an apparatus is described herein. The apparatus may include means for receiving an instruction to trigger activation of a non-cellular modem. The instruction to trigger activation of the non-cellular modem may be received via a cellular AP. The apparatus may also include means for establishing non-cellular communication with a server via a first non-cellular AP. The first non-cellular AP may be one of one or more non-cellular APs, and may have an overlapping coverage area with a cellular AP. The apparatus further includes means for receiving an instruction to deactivate a cellular modem and means for communicating with the server via the non-cellular modem.
In accordance with some aspects, an apparatus for managing communications is described herein. The apparatus includes at least one processor, and the at least one processor may be configured to receive an instruction to trigger activation of a non-cellular modem. The instruction to trigger activation of the non-cellular modem may be received via a cellular AP. The at least one processor may also be configured to establish non-cellular communication with a server via a first non-cellular AP. The first non-cellular AP may be one of one or more non-cellular APs, and may have an overlapping coverage area with a cellular AP. The at least one processor may be further configured to receive an instruction to deactivate a cellular modem and to communicate with the server via the non-cellular modem.
In accordance with some aspects, a method of managing communications at a cellular access point is described herein. The method may include detecting a UE entering a location associated with the cellular access point. The method may further include transmitting an instruction triggering the UE to activate a non-cellular modem on the UE. In addition, the method may include, upon receiving a response from the UE accepting the instruction triggering the UE to activate the non-cellular modem, transmitting a message to a server indicating that the UE has established non-cellular communications.
To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or more aspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspects may be employed, and this description is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents.
The disclosed aspects will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, provided to illustrate and not to limit the disclosed aspects, wherein like designations denote like elements, and in which:
Various aspects are now described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects. It may be evident, however, that such aspect(s) may be practiced without these specific details.
Apparatus and methods are described herein for seamlessly and efficiently handing over communications between a cellular communication protocol and a non-cellular communication protocol. In some aspects, a cellular communication protocol access point, such as a femto cell access point, may be deployed in a location to automatically detect a user device. The cellular communication protocol access point may be configured to handover communications from the cellular communication protocol to an access point associated with a non-cellular communication protocol deployed in the location.
UE 110 may include one or more applications 116. In some aspects, one or more of applications 116 may be an application associated with a location. For example, if server 140 is associated with a retail store, one or more of applications 116 may include a mobile application associated with the store. UE 110 may also include a handover management component 118 for handling handovers between the cellular and non-cellular communications protocols. For example, handover management component 118 may be configured to receive an instruction to activate non-cellular modem 114, and to connect to one of the non-cellular APs 134. In some aspects, handover management component 118 may also be configured to deactivate cellular modems when not in use. While a single cellular modem and a single non-cellular modem are depicted in
Server 140 may be configured to manage communications for UE 110. In some aspects, server 140 may be a home computing device used to manage UE communications at a home location. In other aspects, server 140 may be associated with a location, such as a public location (e.g., a retail store, library, airport, and/or any other public location), etc. As shown in
Server 140 further includes a memory 204, such as for storing data used herein and/or local versions of applications being executed by processor 202. Memory 204 can include any type of memory usable by a computer, such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), tapes, magnetic discs, optical discs, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and any combination thereof. Applications may include, for example, one or more context-specific pattern matching applications.
Further, server 140 may include a communications component 206 that provides a means for establishing and maintaining communications with one or more parties utilizing hardware, software, and services as described herein. Communications component 206 may carry communications between components on server 140, as well as between server 140 and external devices, such as devices located across a communications network and/or devices serially or locally connected to server 140. For example, communications component 206 may include one or more buses, and may further include transmit chain components and receive chain components associated with a transmitter and receiver, respectively, operable for interfacing with external devices such as the non-cellular AP 134 and the cellular AP 132.
Additionally, server 140 may further include a data store 208, which can be any suitable combination of hardware and/or software, that provides for mass storage of information, databases, and programs employed in connection with aspects described herein. For example, data store 208 may be a data repository for applications not currently being executed by processor 202. In some aspects, data store 208 may be located within memory 204.
Server 140 may additionally include a user interface component 210 operable to receive inputs from a user of server 140, or serving as an application programming interface (API), and may be further operable to generate outputs for presentation to the user. User interface component 210 may include one or more input devices, including but not limited to a keyboard, a number pad, a mouse, a touch-sensitive display, a navigation key, a function key, a microphone, a voice recognition component, a still camera, a video camera, an audio recorder, and/or any other mechanism capable of receiving an input, or any combination thereof. Further, user interface component 210 may include one or more output devices, including but not limited to a display, a speaker, a haptic feedback mechanism, a printer, any other mechanism capable of presenting an output, or any combination thereof.
Server 140 may also include a registration component 142, which may include a device registration module 141 for maintaining a list of registered devices and profile information associated with each registered device. For example, the profile information may include a unique identifier, such as a mobile telephone number associated with the device, a list of modems included in the device, a list of protocols supported by the device, etc. Device registration module 141 may also be configured to register the device with the system each time the device connects with cellular or non-cellular APs that are associated with the server. Registration component 142 may also include an application registration module 143. As described earlier, in one aspect, server 140 may be associated with a public location. The public location may have one or more applications associated therewith. For example, if the server 140 is associated with a retail store, the retail store may provide a retail shopping application that a user of a mobile device can use for shopping assistance while in the store. Application registration module 143 may be configured to register such mobile applications. The initial registration of such mobile applications may be initiated, for example, when a user access a webpage associated with a location (e.g., a retail store) and completes a registration form. In other aspects, a user may register an application by scanning a Quick Response (QR) code, bar code, etc., associated with the application. In some aspects, registration may include configuring the mobile application to automatically launch upon detecting that the device has entered the associated location. Server 140 may also include handover management component 144, as described above with respect to
Turning now to
Upon receipt of the message by the UE 110, the UE activates the non-cellular modem 114 and attempts to establish communication with the non-cellular AP 134. As shown at 406, a notification may be received indicating the UE has established the non-cellular communication once such communication has been established. In some aspects, a first notification may be received via the cellular AP 132 indicating the UE accepted the instruction to turn on its non-cellular modem. This response may be useful, for example, in cases where user permission is required before the server 140 triggers activation the non-cellular modem on UE 110. A second notification may also be received via the non-cellular AP 134 indicating that the UE is connected to the non-cellular access point.
As shown at 408, server 140 may determine to use the non-cellular connection for communicating with the UE 110 while UE is in a location associated with server 140. As described above, server 140 may be associated with a location that provides goods or services, and the location may have one or more applications associated therewith. In some aspects, communicating with UE 110 may include providing navigation information to the UE within the location, promotional information, coupons, advertisements, etc. For example, server 140 may be configured to correlate a location of the UE 110 with one or more location-specific goods or services. Based on the determined location, the server 140 may transmit goods/services related information for the location-specific goods or services. As shown at 410, server 140 may optionally provide an instruction to deactivate the cellular modem on the UE 110. When the cellular modem is deactivated, non-cellular communication may be configured to support the services that the UE 110 requires, or UE 110 may agree to limit services while in the location associated with server 140.
As shown at 608, cellular AP 132 forwards the instruction to activate the non-cellular modem to UE 110. Upon acceptance of the instruction, UE 110 activates the non-cellular modem, as shown at 610. UE 110 and non-cellular AP 134 work together to detect and configure non-cellular access, as shown at 612. Once the non-cellular communication has been established, non-cellular AP 134 notifies server 140 that UE is connected, as depicted at 614. As shown at 616, UE 110 acknowledges receipt of the instruction from cellular AP 132. Cellular AP 132 may then notify server 140 of this acceptance, as shown at 618. Server 140 can now communicate with UE 110 via non-cellular communication, as shown at 620 and 622.
When UE 110 is again in range of cellular AP 132, a detection process may occur, as shown at 624, and the cellular AP 132 may notify server 140 that UE 110 is within its coverage area, as shown at 626. In accordance with some aspects, multiple non-cellular APs may be deployed in a location. As shown at 628, non-cellular AP 134 may be configured to notify server 140 that UE 110 is within its coverage area. According to some aspects, based on the past locations of UE 110 and its presence within the coverage area of cellular AP 132, server 140 may determine that UE will be exiting the location. As such, server 140 may decide that UE 110 should switch back to cellular communications, as shown at 630. As shown at 632, server 140 provides an instruction for UE 110 to turn off its non-cellular modem, and this instruction is forwarded to UE 110 from cellular AP 132, as shown at 634. The UE 110 may then turn off its non-cellular modem, as shown and 640, and may optionally notify server 140, via cellular AP 132, that the non-cellular modem has been turned off, as shown at 642 and 644.
In accordance with some aspects, power savings can be obtained by deactivating modems not in use. Accordingly, after an active call has been handed over from cellular to non-cellular, server 140 may issue an instruction to deactivate the cellular modem at UE 110. The instruction may be transmitted to the non-cellular AP 134, as shown at 623, which in turn forwards the instruction to UE 110, as shown at 625. As shown at 627, UE 110 may then turn off its cellular modem. Communications between server 140 and UE 110 are now performed via non-cellular communication, as shown at 622. In accordance with some aspects, server 140 may also issue an instruction to turn off other power-intensive modules. For example, where communication between the UE and the server occurs via a Wi-Fi connection, the server may instruct UE 110 to turn off its Bluetooth, GPS, and/or any other power-intensive modules not needed to maintain the communication.
As described above, at least one non-cellular AP 134 may have overlapping coverage area with cellular AP 132, and may be located near the entrance of a location. The at least one non-cellular AP 134 having overlapping coverage area with the cellular AP 132 may notify server 140 that the UE is again within its coverage area, as shown at 628. The server 140 may determine that UE 110 is exiting its location, and may issue an instruction to re-activate the cellular modem, as shown at 629. Non-cellular AP 134 forwards this instruction to UE 110, as shown and 631, and UE 110 re-activates its cellular mode, as shown at 633. The detection process between UE 110 and cellular AP 132 begins, as shown at 624. Once a cellular detection is completed, the cellular AP 132 notifies server 140 that UE 110 has a cellular connection, as shown at 626. The server 140 may then determine to switch to cellular communications as shown at 630 and described above with respect to
As described herein, in accordance with some aspects, server 140 may be associated with a location, such as a retail store.
As shown at 804, cellular AP 132 registers UE 110 with server 140. Registration may include, for example, transmitting identification information associated with UE 110. The identification information may include, for example, a telephone number or other identification number associated with the UE, a personal ID/username associated with a user of the UE, etc. In some aspects, server 140 may be located remotely from a retail store associated with the server, and may serve as an application server for one or more retail stores/other locations. In this case, registration may also include transmitting an ID number/name associated with the particular store that the UE 110 has entered. In some aspects, cellular AP 132 may maintain UE and/or store profile information associated with each registered UE and store. In other aspects, the UE/store profile information may be stored at server 140 or at any other location. Registration may include retrieving the profile information.
As shown at 806, server 140 may transmit a welcome message and/or trigger to cellular AP 132, which in turn forwards the welcome message/trigger to UE 110, as shown at 808. In some aspects, the welcome message may be a message welcoming a user of UE 110 to the location. The trigger message may be used to trigger UE 110 to turn on its non-cellular modem, and to automatically launch an application associated with the store. As shown at 810, non-cellular communication may be configured. In some aspects, the retail store may be equipped with multiple non-cellular APs 134. A first non-cellular AP may have an overlapping coverage area with cellular AP 132. As the UE 110 moves through the store, the UE 110 may connect to different non-cellular APs 134.
Once non-cellular communications have been established, server 140 may decide to communicate with UE 110 via non-cellular communication, and in-store communication and navigation may be provided via the one or more non-cellular APs 134, as shown at 812. In some aspects, these communications may include, for example, providing navigation services enabling a user of the UE to locate products of interest within the store, providing promotional materials, such as coupons or other incentives, etc. In some aspects, server 140 may be configured to correlate a location of UE 110 with one or more location-specific goods or services. Based on the determined location, the server 140 may transmit goods/services related information for the location-specific goods or services. In some aspects, the server 140 may be configured to track the location of the UE as it moves through the store. This may include, for example, receiving location information from the UE 110 periodically, tracking the interaction of the UE with known location markers throughout the store, or tracking the UE 110 as it connects to different non-cellular APs 134. For example, based on the tracked location and/or interaction information, the server 140 may be able to determine whether the UE 110 is exiting the store. This may cause the server 140 to trigger the UE 110 to deactivate the application associated with the store. In addition, this may cause the server 140 to trigger the UE 110 to handover communications back to cellular communications, and if previously deactivated, to re-activate the cellular modem associated with UE 110, as shown in
Referring to
Additionally, apparatus 900 can include a memory 914 that retains instructions for executing functions associated with blocks 904-910. While shown as being external to memory 914, it is to be understood that one or more of blocks 904-910 can exist within memory 914. In an aspect, for example, memory 914 may be the same as or similar to memory 204 or data store 208 (
Additionally, apparatus 1000 can include a memory 1012 that retains instructions for executing functions associated with blocks 1004, 1006, 1008, and 1010. While shown as being external to memory 1012, it is to be understood that one or more of blocks 1004, 1006, 1008, and 1010 can exist within memory 1012. In an aspect, for example, memory 1012 may be the same as or similar to memory 304 or data store 308 (
In this application, the word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the word exemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion
As used in this application, the terms “component,” “module,” “system” and the like are intended to include a computer-related entity, such as but not limited to hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be a component. One or more components can reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components may communicate by way of local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets, such as data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet with other systems by way of the signal.
Furthermore, various aspects are described herein in connection with a UE, which can be a wired UE or a wireless UE. A UE can also be called a system, device, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile, mobile device, remote station, remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, terminal, communication device, user agent, or user device. A wireless UE may be a cellular telephone, a satellite phone, a cordless telephone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device having wireless connection capability, a computing device, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. Moreover, various aspects are described herein in connection with a base station. A base station may be utilized for communicating with wireless terminal(s) and may also be referred to as an access point, a Node B, or some other terminology.
Moreover, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from the context, the phrase “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, the phrase “X employs A or B” is satisfied by any of the following instances: X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from the context to be directed to a singular form.
The techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communication systems such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA and other systems. The terms “system” and “network” are often used interchangeably. A CDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, etc. UTRA includes Wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) and other variants of CDMA. Further, cdma2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a release of UMTS that uses E-UTRA, which employs OFDMA on the downlink and SC-FDMA on the uplink. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE and GSM are described in documents from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP). Additionally, cdma2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). Further, such wireless communication systems may additionally include peer-to-peer (e.g., mobile-to-mobile) ad hoc network systems often using unpaired unlicensed spectrums, 802.xx wireless LAN, BLUETOOTH and any other short- or long-range, wireless communication techniques.
Various aspects or features will be presented in terms of systems that may include a number of devices, components, modules, and the like. It is to be understood and appreciated that the various systems may include additional devices, components, modules, etc. and/or may not include all of the devices, components, modules etc. discussed in connection with the figures. A combination of these approaches may also be used.
The various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but, in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. Additionally, at least one processor may comprise one or more modules operable to perform one or more of the steps and/or actions described above.
Further, the steps and/or actions of a method or algorithm described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium may be coupled to the processor, such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. Further, in some aspects, the processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. Additionally, the ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal. Additionally, in some aspects, the steps and/or actions of a method or algorithm may reside as one or any combination or set of codes and/or instructions on a machine readable medium and/or computer readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computer program product.
In one or more aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection may be termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs usually reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.
While the foregoing disclosure discusses illustrative aspects and/or embodiments, it should be noted that various changes and modifications could be made herein without departing from the scope of the described aspects and/or embodiments as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, although elements of the described aspects and/or embodiments may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. Additionally, all or a portion of any aspect and/or embodiment may be utilized with all or a portion of any other aspect and/or embodiment, unless stated otherwise.
