Patent Grant
7685530
This present invention relates generally to user interfaces that are centered about a user's preferred group of contacts on a communication device.
Cellular telephones have become common communication tools in modern society. A wide variety of handset styles are available such as the “clam shell” flip-style cellular telephones, the non-flip or “candy-bar” style cellular telephones, and other cellular telephones with pivoting displays. While the internal designs of the cellular telephones may be quite different, each is generally designed ergonomically for maximum convenience and comfort. A variety of button and selector key configurations are also available, some with ergonomic design in mind and others with enhanced specialized functionality. Each cellular telephone has its own style and functional features that provide a unique set of user experiences.
Many modern cellular telephone devices also incorporate organizational tools that have traditionally been found in personal information managers or PIMs. Examples of PIM functionalities that may be incorporated into cellular telephone devices include personal call lists, business contact call lists, phone book information, calendars, personal reminders and other information. Moreover, the popularity of certain tools and functionalities traditionally associated with non-telecommunications devices, such as digital still and video cameras, MP3 players, and computers (with applications including e-mail, instant text messaging and photo messaging), have increased the interest in providing cellular telephone devices incorporating a wide variety of non-telecommunications functions.
The present disclosure has evaluated and contemplated a variety of these and other functions to provide a user interface system with ease of use that is centered about a user's preferred group of contacts. The group centered user interface is very useful in mobile or portable electronic devices such as cellular communication devices, PDAs, PIMs, as well as other devices. Moreover, the present disclosure contemplates that special billing systems may be applied to the group of contacts.
The present description relates to a preferred contact group centric interface that can be used to facilitate communications by the user with any of his or her designated preferred contacts via a communication device. The user interface can be arranged to activate from a user's “home page” on the display of his or her communication device, from an idle screen that is accessed after a timeout period expires, or any other appropriate mechanism that activates the preferred contact group centric experience.
Briefly stated, a preferred contact group centric interface for a communication device can be used to facilitate communications by a user. A user selects the preferred contact group from among an array of the user's contacts. Once the contact group is configured, a minimal number of navigation/selection features is necessary to activate any number of communication modes available to the contacts. The contact group is configured such that simple and quick navigation between the contact members is achieved. The contact group can be presented in two dimensional and three dimensional arrangements, and in any number of list or geometric configurations. A pricing plan may optionally be tied to the provision of communications services between the user and his or her preferred contact group.
The preferred contact group centric experience is designed to facilitate quick and easy selection of a contact from among an array of the user's contacts (as designated by the user), followed by quick and easy application selection from a variety of communications modes, including single-click initiation of a communication mode of a default contact or a default communication mode. Although many of the descriptions contained herein illustrate a grouping of five (5) key contacts related to the interface, the exact number of contacts is not significant and any number of contacts (e.g., 10, 20, 100, etc) can be employed individually or as part of groups. Moreover, the term communication device is intended to cover a wide variety of devices such as, for example, cellular telephone type devices, PDA/PIM style devices, as well as other devices that include communication facilities.
In one example, a display of five preferred contacts is presented on the idle screen of the user's communication device. The user may initiate a communication mode for a pre-selected default contact with a single click, or may swiftly traverse through his or her contacts using navigation keys configured for such purpose (e.g., up/down/left/right keys) until the desired contact is highlighted, then may initiate a pre-selected default communication to the highlighted contact simply by pressing the designated default key on the communication device or may traverse through numerous other communications modes that are available to communicate with the selected contact (e.g. e-mail, instant messaging, or photo messaging) simply by using navigation keys configured for such purpose (e.g., up/down/left/right keys) and then pressing a designated selection button on the communication device. The interface is contact group centric in that the interface experience commences with the selection of the desired recipient (either manually or by default) from the user's preferred contact group, followed by selection of the desired mode of communication with a selected contact (either via single-click initiation of a default mode of communication or via a communication mode menu).
While some conventional address book menus on communication devices do provide a minimal amount of person centric communications, the contact group centric interface is unique in that it provides a user with a novel method to select both preferred contacts and preferred communication modes through a single, visually appealing interface. The user's preferred contacts, as well as communications options relating to those contacts, may be presented in a list-styled arrangement, a circular-styled arrangement, an elliptical-styled arrangement, or some other geometric-styled arrangement such as pentagonal, hexagonal, “X” shaped, “T” shaped, or “+” shaped arrangements. In addition, the presentation of all communication modes in one location, accessible through presentation of the contacts on an idle screen, is novel to the preferred contact group centric interface. Example screenshots for various views of the preferred contact group centric interface are presented below, along with communication mode screenshots. User contacts are chosen in advance by the user and remain in the order selected until the user replaces or rearranges his or her contacts, thereby providing predictability in user interface interaction. For example, if the user selects “MOM” as his or her first contact, then only a single click of a designated key is required to call “MOM”, until the user changes the order and moves “MOM” to another location among his or her preferred contacts. This is an important novel concept of the preferred contact group centric interface and an enhancement to current user interface experiences.
Current cellular telephone user interfaces are designed in a very feature centric manner. For example, to make voice calls on a conventional cellular telephone, users typically access the device's address book. In order to type and transmit a text message, the user must typically first access a “messages” menu and then select a “compose” function from the menu, followed by selecting the desired recipient of the message. While some cellular telephones do permit a user to send a text message, for example, from a phone book menu, this user experience is not optimal in terms of minimizing number of key clicks and overall ease of navigation. Requiring users to navigate to numerous menus and locations in the traditional user interface also negatively impacts of the user's ability to discover those features. In summary, the user experience for current cellular telephones is very feature driven rather than contact centric.
The preferred contact group centric interface brings the user's most-desired contacts “front and center” to the idle screen (or some other appropriate screen) of the device display. Through easy and intuitive selection of a desired contact among an array of contacts, the user is then able to quickly access a variety of communication modes available to communicate with the contact, such as initiating a voice call, sending a text, picture, voice or instant message (IM), or sending an email. The preferred contact group centric interface also enables a novel scalable user experience that provides a “front and center” presentation from which to add new communication services.
This concept may benefit both the end customer and the service provider (e.g., a wireless telecommunications carrier). The service provider supporting the communication device may offer special, desirable pricing plans in conjunction with the unique qualities of the preferred contact group centric interface. For instance, the service provider may offer a special price plan providing unlimited incoming and outgoing voice calls between the user and his or her designated preferred contacts. By way of further example, the service provider may expand its offering of unlimited services to include unlimited messaging as well as data use related to the user's designated preferred contacts. Further expansion of the price plan can include calling to international numbers.
The idle screen can be defined at the front/home screen of the communication device, and may include the name of the service provider, battery level, wireless signal strength, date, time, and may provide access to the menu functions of the phone.
The display of the user's contacts on the preferred contact group centric interface's idle screen can be integrated into the background wallpaper through transparency.
In another embodiment, the user's contacts can be a Web-enabled page that is downloaded from a network connection such as a Web page or a WAP page, possibly including active X, Java, Flash, or some other scripting or executable format that provides a uniform interaction on all similar communications devices. Contacts can be managed through the Web, or WAP, other over-The-air transport technology, a cable interface with the device or other connection to another device (e.g., personal computer).
Screenshot 120 illustrates a list-style idle screen configuration where each contact in the user's contact group is arranged in a vertical list about a linear axis with graphical icons positioned on the left hand side of the screen and text identifying the corresponding contacts name on right hand side of the screen. A selected contact is illustrated in an inverse video format or some other graphical form highlighting. In one example, the selected contact always appears in a fixed location on the display (e.g., the top most position, the bottom most position, the center position, etc.) and the user interface is arranged to vertically scroll up and down through the list. In another example, the highlighting indicator can be moved up and down through the contact list. In still another example, the list has a wrap-around effect where scrolling from the top of the display continues at the bottom of the list, and vice-versa. The list-style idle screen may also be displayed horizontally.
Screenshot 130 illustrates another circular style configuration where each contact in the user's contact group is arranged about a center axis on the display, with the currently-selected contact being located in the center of the other non-selected contacts. In example screenshot 130, the dimensions of the graphical icon (a photo in this case) are larger for the selected contact than the other non-selected contacts. Text identifying the selected contact's name is included around the bottom line of the graphical display.
Screenshot 140 illustrates another circular style configuration where each contact in the user's contact group is arranged about a center axis on the graphics display in a three-dimensional space. The dimensions of the graphical icon (a photo in this case) are larger for the selected contact than the other non-selected contacts. Text identifying the selected contact's name is included above the graphical icon, below the graphical icon, or overlapping the top portion of the graphical icon as illustrated in the figure. The graphical icons are depicted with a three-dimensional appearance that is akin to a sphere with an image wrapped around the visible face. The user interface can be arranged such that the selected icon can be changed by rotation about a three-dimensional axis. Shadows can be added to reflect a three dimensional look.
Each of the above-described idle screens permits the user to change the currently-selected contact by traversing the group of contacts in the user's contact group via the various navigation buttons/interfaces on the communication device (e.g., a wireless communication device, a cellular telephone, a PDA or PIN style device, etc.). A variety of graphical effects can be applied to the display screen when the user traverses the group of contacts appearing in the interface, such as an animated rotation effect, a picture swap effect, a fade-in effect, a fade-out effect, a fly-in effect, a fly-out effect, a dissolve-in effect, a dissolve-out effect, a spiral-in effect, a spiral-out effect, a slide-in effect, and a slide-out effect.
The preferred contact group centric interface that is described herein is described in terms of navigation/selection buttons and keys on the communication device, as well as other specially designated selectors that are used for initiating and cancelling telephone calls. However, any appropriate navigation/selection means is contemplated within the scope of this discussion including, but not limited to a keypad, a directional key, a dynamically assigned soft key, a joypad-style interface, a joystick-style interface, a trackball-style interface, a touch screen type interface, and a stylus type interface. Other means of navigation/selection can include side key push and hold, speech recognition, and gesture recognition.
After initial power up, a timeout occurs and the communication device displays pre-activation idle screen 310. After activation is completed by the user with the service provider (e.g., via a telephone call, in a company store, over the Internet, or by other means), an SMS message is sent to the communication device. The communication device receives the SMS message and displays a text message receipt screen such as SMS screen 320. The user can either select “View” or “Exit” from SMS screen 320. Selection of “View” causes the communication device to display a welcome message such as welcome screen 330. The user can exit from welcome screen 330 by selecting “Options” or “Back”, resulting in the communication device transferring to the preferred contact group centric interface's main or default screen, which is illustrated as post-activation idle screen 340. User selection of “Exit” from SMS screen 320 also results in the communication device changing to the post-activation idle screen 340.
Once the preferred contact group centric interface is available on the communication device, the default main screen or idle screen can be initialized for a selected group of contacts that are considered within the user's preferred contacts group. Special telecommunications pricing and/or services associated with the user's preferred contacts group may be associated with a special pricing plan. When the user's preferred contacts are keyed to a special pricing plan, a service provider may desire that the user's group membership be changed only at the beginning of a billing cycle or during some other revolving enrollment period. The user may designate the membership of his or her preferred contact group via the communication device, a customer service center representative, a computer connected through the Internet, or some other mechanism.
A partially-populated idle screen includes a mix of graphical identifiers associated with the user's preferred contacts, as illustrated in idle screen 410 of
A fully populated idle screen includes a mix of graphical identifiers associated for the various preferred contacts as illustrated in screenshot 420 of
The optional status indicators can also be tied to a variety of other features, such as presence information, upcoming dates and appointments, and a mood level associated with the particular contact.
Presence information indicators can reveal the contact's current availability status (e.g., “available”, “unavailable”, “on-line”, “off-line”, “busy”, “out to lunch”, “in a meeting”, “be right back”, “away”), their location status (“at the corner of 5th Ave.”), as well as other user configurable presence indicators (e.g., “meet me for lunch at 2 PM”).
Upcoming dates and appointments indicators can reveal the contact's birthday, anniversary, and other important dates and appointments.
Mood level indicators can be utilized to project a likely mood upon a preferred contact, such as happy, sad, or ambivalent, wherein the mood level can be changed dynamically based on a number of criteria. For example, if a user has not contacted a preferred contact recently, or not as frequently as other contacts from the user's preferred contact group, the mood indicator may designate the contact as sad. In contrast, a frequently contacted contact can have a mood indicator of happy. The mood indicators can also be tied to other items, such as a daily horoscope, or updated in response to a presence data that is provided by the contact, such as through an instant messaging program.
Other information such as current physical location of the contact (e.g., near the user, in the same city as the user) using location based technology can also be displayed. In addition, relevant content related to the contact may also be displayed (e.g., if contact is interested in a specific musical act, then the musical act's upcoming concert date can be displayed, along with a hotlink to purchase tickets).
The user can press the “Select” key (e.g., the center button on a joypad, an “OK” button, or some other button) from the idle screen to add a contact for the currently selected contact group member. The pressing of the “Select” key results in another screen that either replaces the current screen with an “Add Group Contact” dialog or overlays the current screen (e.g., a pop-up window). The dialog notifies the user that a new contact is being added to the currently selected group (which was unpopulated in this example). The preferred contact group centric interface also permits the user to select “Create new”, “Get from phonebook” or “Back.” Selection of “Back” cancels the “add contact” dialog box and returns to the idle screen.
Selection of “Create new” from the “Add Group Contact” dialog transitions the preferred contact group centric interface to a “Create new” template with one or more data entry fields such as name, number, picture, etc. The fields could also include a wide variety of additional information, including e-mail address, home address, birthday, favorite ice cream, place of birth, and other information. The user can return to the prior screen with selection of the “Back” key, or enter data into one or more of the various data entry fields.
Data can be entered into the data entry fields using various keys and/or input devices available for the communication device. Once the user has entered data, the user can either cancel the entered data or select the “Save” key. Pressing the “Cancel” key returns the preferred contact group centric interface to the prior screen, which is the “Add Group Contact” dialog, while pressing the “Save” key transfers the preferred contact group centric interface to a confirmation dialog.
The confirmation dialog requests the user to approve saving the information for the selected contact from the user's preferred contact group. Approval can be rejected by the user by depressing one key function (e.g., “No”), or accepted by depressing another key function (e.g., “Yes”). Rejection of approval returns the process to the prior screen. When approval is accepted, the entered data is transmitted by the communication device to the service provider for records updating, and a dialog screen is displayed to indicate that the server is being updated.
After a timeout period has expired, processing returns to the idle screen where a wait indicator (e.g., an hourglass) is displayed for the previously selected icon. After the service provider has updated records for the communication device on server, a message is transmitted to the communication device to indicate that the records have been successfully updated (or perhaps an error message if some other error occurs). The updated records dialog screen can be dismissed with a user interaction such as pressing an “OK” button, and the user interface resumes the idle screen with the populated contact now present.
The user can press the “Select” key (e.g., the center button on a joypad, an “OK” button, or some other button) from the idle screen to add a contact for the currently selected contact group member. Pressing the “Select” key results in another screen that either replaces the current screen with an “Add Group Contact” dialog or overlays the current screen such as a pop-up window style. The dialog notifies the user that a new contact is being added to the currently selected group member (which was previously unpopulated in this example). The user interface also permits the user to select “Create new”, “Get from phonebook” or “Back.” Selection of “Back” cancels the “Add Group Contact” dialog box and returns to the idle screen.
Selection of “Get from phonebook” from the “Add Group Contact” dialog transitions the user interface to a phonebook interface such as from a contact manager type application. A previously entered contact can then be selected from the phonebook using the various keys and/or input devices available in the contact manager. Once the user has selected the contact, the user can either cancel the selection (e.g., selecting “Back”), or select a telephone number (e.g., from a list of available numbers such as a home number, a cell phone number, etc.) for the contact. After the desired phone number is selected, the user can either save the selected contact information (e.g. “Save”) or cancel and return to the prior screen (e.g., “Cancel”). The confirmation dialogs, approval/rejection, and remaining steps in
As previously stated, each contact in the user's preferred contact group can have an associated graphical icon for display on the idle screen.
Approval of the default picture opens a photographic edit tool that includes a crop tool that operates similar to a graphical cursor. The crop tool can be positioned on a desired region of the picture by the user. Optionally, the crop tool can also be configured to zoom in and out of the picture region to provide a desired image size for cropping. Selection of “Crop” will transition the user interface to a “Save” dialog window that permits approval or rejection of the cropped photo. Selection of “Back” aborts the crop tool back to the prior screen, which is the “Use default” picture dialog screen previously described.
When the default picture is rejected, another dialog screen is displayed that includes various data fields for the user's preferred contact. The user can then press the “Select” key or “Center” key over the picture field to select the photo from a number of sources such as a digital camera interface (e.g., “Take Picture”) that is built into the communication device, a file folder such as “My Photos”, an icon such as “Group Contact Icons”, or some other source such as downloaded icons. Selection of “Take Picture” causes the communication device to activate its facility for taking pictures, followed by cropping the picture, and the various approval and rejection dialogs previously described. Selection of “My Photos” results in activation of a file manager type of tool that permits selection of a photograph from a file folder, activation of the crop tool, and the various approval and rejection dialogs previously described. Selection of “Group Contact Icons” results in activation of a file manager type of tool that permits selection of an icon from a file folder, followed by the various approval and rejection dialogs as previously described. Selection of “Get More Icons” results in the launch of an Internet based browser (e.g., WAP) allowing the user to download more icons.
It is anticipated that a user may desire to edit the information associated with a member of the user's preferred contact group, or replace the contact with another more desirable contact.
Section of “Replace Contact” causes another dialog series, such as warning messages that a contact cannot be changed until the next billing cycle, or some other dialog such as a screen warning that the contact can only be replaced once a month. This dialog screen can be the result of a check with the network to confirm inability for the user to make the change. An approval/rejection dialog can then be exercised to permit replacing the contact.
From the settings menu, a variety of setting parameters are accessible, such as “1. Time & Date”, “2. Display Settings”, “3. Sound Settings”, “4. Group Settings”, “5. Network Services”, and “6. Security”. Selection of the designated number key (4 in this example) or navigating the cursor to the “Group Settings” and pressing the selection button activates the “Group Contacts Settings” menu. A “Back” interaction can also be used to return to the prior screen.
From the “Group Contact Settings” menu a number of selections are available such as “1. Hide Group”, “2. Refresh Group”, and “3. About Group Contacts”. Selection of “Hide Group” disables the idle screen from showing the preferred group contacts and a dialog screen is displayed that indicates the assignment of various shortcuts and related settings. Once “OK” is selected, the dialog screen is dismissed and the group contacts settings menu toggles “1. Hide Group” to “1. Unhide Group”. Selection of “Refresh Group” sends a message to the server requesting that the preferred group contact settings be updated, resulting in a dialog screen (which can be dismissed with “OK”) that refreshing may take a few minutes. Selection of “About Group Contacts” launches an Internet based site such as a WAP site. From the WAP site, the wireless carrier can provide a number of additional menu selection items, additional information about the current settings, or any other desired interaction.
The settings menu can also include other settings such as Animation Settings that allow the user the option to choose different ways in which the group contacts are animated. In one example animation setting, the visible contacts on the device's display screen are animated by rotating about a rotational axis when the user changes the currently selected contact. In another example animation setting, the visible contacts on the device's display screen are animated by fade-in and fade-out effects. In still another example animation setting, the visible contacts on the device's display screen are animated by fly-in and fly-out effects. Other effects may also be selected with an animation setting, including disabling the animation effects.
Selection of the “Send” key (or some other previously assigned key) from the idle screen results in the communication device activating a pre-selected communication mode associated with the currently selected contact. The pre-selected communication mode can be pre-configured for a default communication mode, or user configured. In one example, the pre-selected communication mode for each contact in the group of contacts can be different from one another. In another example, the pre-selected communication mode for each contact in the group of contacts are the same. In one example, the pre-selected communication mode is simply to place a telephone call to a previously designated phone number for the contact, as shown by the “Calling . . . ” dialog screen.
As depicted in
Pressing the “Select” key from the idle screen results in the communication device activating a communication options menu for the currently selected contact. The list of contacts can revert to the original state, for example immediately after the call has ended or the message has been sent or after a brief timeout (e.g., 5 seconds).
The communication options menu includes a set of choices such as “1. Call”, “2. Send Message”, “3. Share Picture”, “4. Send Voice Note” and “5. Activity Log”, similar to that described for
Selecting “Send Message” from the communication options menu activates a text message interface. The user can enter and send text messages from the messaging interface. The preferred contact group centric interface automatically retrieves address data associated with the currently selected preferred contact such that selection of “OK” or “Options->Send” sends the message without further user interaction.
Selecting “Share Picture” from the communication options menu activates a picture-sharing interface that includes selections such as “1. Take Picture”, “2. My Photos”, and “3. Group Contact Icons”. Selection of “Take Picture” activates a digital camera interface on the communication device, where digital pictures can be captured by activating the electronic shutter (e.g., “Capture”). Selection of “My Photos” activates a file manager interface on the communication device, where digital pictures can be selected. Once again, the user interface automatically retrieves address data associated with the currently selected preferred contact such that selection of “OK” or “Options->Send” sends the captured or selected photo without further user interaction.
Selecting “Send Voice Note” from the communication options menu activates a voice note interface where a voice message can be recorded by selecting “Record”. The user dictates the voice message to the communication device and presses the “Stop” key to end the recording. As may be desired in any interface, the voice note interface is illustrated with a “Back” key feature that permits returning to a prior screen such as the communication options menu. Similar to that discussed previously, the preferred contact group centric interface automatically retrieves address data associated with the currently selected preferred contact such that selection of “Send” transmits the recorded voice note without further user interaction.
Selecting “Activity Log” from the communication options menu activates a communications activity log interface that is associated with the selected contact. Communication activities for the selected contact are then displayed on the screen. The activity log can include any number of activities such as, for example, time and date of phone calls, text messages, voice notes, pictures received, etc. The activity log interface is illustrated with a “Back” key feature that permits returning to a prior screen such as the communication options menu. Additional options can also be available from the activity log interface such as “clear history”, as well as others.
An arrangement of graphical icons is used to indicate each of the communication modes that is available for the currently selected contact. The graphical icons are arranged about a central axis relative to the display screen. The user interface in this example is arranged such that selection of the left and right navigation keys will result in rotationally changing the location of each of the graphical icons relative to the central axis. The currently selected communication mode in this example corresponds to the graphical icon that is located in the bottom center location of the display screen. The currently selected graphical icon also includes a text string that is displayed in the bottom center area of the display screen. A selection indicator in this example is illustrated by the box that surrounds the graphical icon and the associated text string.
As may be desired in any interface, the “Back” key feature can permit the user to dismiss the communication options menu and return to a prior screen such as the idle display screen. Similar to that discussed previously, the preferred contact group centric interface automatically retrieves addressing information for any of the selected communication modes such that activation of a communication mode only requires a single click.
Although the above-described example communication options menu is arranged in a circular or elliptical arrangement that rotates about a central axis on the screen, other arrangements are also available such as a linear list, a vertical list, a horizontal list, a diagonal list, a circular shape, a semi-circular shape, an elliptical shape, a triangular shape, a diamond shape, a U-shape, an L-shape, a square shape, a quadrilateral shape, a pentagonal shape, a hexagonal shape, another geometric patterned shape, a two-dimensional pattern, and a three-dimensional pattern.
While the above description of the communication options menu is described with a rotation about the central axis, graphical effects can also be used such as an animation effect, a highlight effect, a fade-in effect, a fade-out effect, a fly-in effect, a fly-out effect, a dissolve-in effect, a dissolve-out effect, a spiral-in effect, a spiral-out effect, a slide-in effect, and a slide-out effect.
The above-described example is illustrated where the bottom center location of the display screen corresponds to the currently selected communication mode. The present disclosure it not so limited, and any other screen location may also be utilized for the currently selected communication mode. Moreover, the graphical icons can remain stationary in another example, where a graphical indicator of the currently selected communication mode moves about the screen. The graphical indicator can be any desired effect such as a highlight effect, a selection box, an inverse video effect, etc.
The “Set As” menu has a number of available selections such as “1. Wallpaper”, “2. Picture ID”, and “3. Group Contact Icon”. Selection of “Wallpaper” saves the downloaded image as background wallpaper for the communication device. Selection of “Picture ID” saves the downloaded image as a photographic identifier, such as might be used by a contact manager application or perhaps stored in a file folder for other uses.
Selection of “Group Contact Icon” saves the downloaded image as a preferred contact icon. In some instances, the downloaded picture is not already in appropriate format and the image is cropped with a cropping tool similar to that previously described for
Selection of “manage group contacts” can be handled by a web-interface such as illustrated in
Initial configuration is illustrated in
The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the manufacture and use of the composition of the embodiments. Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methods, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features, or specific implementations described above. Many other configurations of computing devices, communications features, applications, and distributed software and/or hardware systems may be employed to implement the described dynamic user interface. The specific features and methods described above are thus disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims and embodiments.
This utility patent application claims the benefit under 35 United States Code § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/689,581 filed on Jun. 10, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
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