Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CALLER IDENTIFICATION FOR HANDS-FREE ACCESSORY
DEVICE WIRELESSLY CONNECTED TO MOBILE DEVICE
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present technology relates generally to caller
identification in telephony and, in particular, to caller
identification and annunciation techniques for hands-free
accessory devices that are wirelessly connected to mobile
devices.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Hands-free accessory devices wirelessly connect to
mobile devices via short-range wireless protocols, such as
Bluetooth . These accessory devices (also referred to herein
as audio gateways) come in a variety of forms, including
headsets, earpieces and visor-mounted car kits.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0003] Further features and advantages of the present
technology will become apparent from the following detailed
description, taken in combination with the appended drawings,
in which:
[0004] FIG. 1 is a depiction of a mobile device that may be
used to implement the present technology;
[0005] FIG. 2 is a depiction of a system including a hands-
free accessory device wirelessly connected to a mobile device;
[0006] FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting steps of a method
performed by the mobile device (handset) in accordance with
one implementation of the present technology;
[0007] FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting steps of a
complementary method performed by the accessory device (audio
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gateway) in accordance with one implementation of the present
technology; and
[0008] FIG. 5 is a data flow diagram showing a
messaging/signalling sequence between a handset and an audio
gateway in one implementation of the present technology.
[0009] It will be noted that throughout the appended
drawings, like features are identified by like reference
numerals.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0010] The present technology enables a caller name stored in
a directory on a mobile device to be provided to a hands-free
accessory device for caller annunciation.
[0011] Although the present technology may apply to many
different kinds of accessory devices and mobile communication
devices, and to many different protocols (especially wireless
protocols) the concepts may be readily illustrated in the
concept of the Bluetooth technology. The Bluetooth Hands-
Free Profile (HFP) provides basic capabilities to route audio
packets of SCO or eSCO (Synchronous Connections and Extended
Synchronous Connections) type between the mobile device or
handset (HS) and the audio gateway (AG), i.e. the headset, car
kit or other hands-free accessory device. In addition, the
HFP provides for the exchange of control commands and
indications relating to the setup, maintenance and termination
of this audio streaming channel.
[0012] In its most rudimentary form, the HFP does not provide
for the relaying of the remote caller identity from the HS to
the AG. An optional feature, known as Caller Line
Identification, allows the handset, on receipt of an incoming
call from a remote subscriber, to relay the subscriber's
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number (but not name) using an HFP protocol-prescribed
indication known as CLIP (short for calling line
identification presentation). The CLIP message mechanism,
however, only provides for the conveyance of the caller
number. The Bluetooth HFP specification mandates that the
CLIP message be a part of the optional AT message scheme, and
includes five parameters, of which only the first two are to
be read by the destination HS device. The remaining
parameters are to be ignored.
[0013] One implication of the way that the HFP messages are
implemented is that only the caller's number is relayed from
the phone to the connected accessory device (such as a headset
or car kit).
[0014] The HFP specifications make no provisions for the
exchange of the caller's name whether provided from the
network or from the mobile device's phonebook. This is a
limitation of the existing HFP protocol. The ability to relay
the caller name to the Bluetooth headset or car kit can be
provided by implementing the Bluetooth Phone Book Access
Profile (PBAP) on both the mobile device and the accessory
device. However, there may be serious disadvantages to
implementing this profile on an accessory device such as a
headset or car kit, as explained below.
[0015] The Bluetooth Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP)
provides a means to synchronize all phone book objects found
on the phone (or mobile device) with the Bluetooth accessory
device. These objects include not only phone book entries but
also call history (dialed numbers, received calls and missed
calls). As to phone entries, which are always in a standard
unencrypted vCard format, PBAP synchronizes them with the
accessory device whether they are stored in the phone's memory
or on the SIM card. PBAP therefore provides a means to obtain
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the caller name, as entered on the phone's address book. In
addition, the accessory is provided with phone book and call
history browsing capabilities.
[0016] Although PBAP provides one approach to caller
identification, there are at least two significant
disadvantages to this PBAP approach:
[0017] A first disadvantage is the overhead in terms of
memory resources required to implement the PBAP on the
accessory. Where the phone book entries are numerous,
increased CPU resources may be required to match, in real
time, the incoming caller's number with the phone book's
entries.
[0018] A second disadvantage is data security. Allowing the
accessory to carry a duplicate of a phone book with all its
entries and call history details is a potential security
concern. Because these entries are or may be unencrypted and
there are or may be no log-in credentials or password required
to access the data on the accessory, this duplicated data may
be vulnerable. Furthermore, as a general matter, more copies
of sensitive information creates an increased risk of loss of
control of that information. In some circumstances, for
example, a user may be at risk of misplacing or otherwise
losing control of a (possibly less-secure) accessory device,
perhaps while maintaining control of a (perhaps more-secure)
mobile device. The PBAP approach thus gives rise to potential
privacy concerns.
[0019] Another related technology is disclosed in U.S. Patent
Application Publication 2006/0183513 (Slamka et al.) which
describes an audio caller ID technique for mobile telephone
headsets. This technology uses voice tags recorded by the
user for contacts stored in a personal directory. Upon
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receipt of an incoming call, the number is correlated in the
personal directory to identify a contact. The voice tag
associated with the identified contact is then played audibly
to announce that this contact is calling. In the absence of a
voice tag, voice-synthesized numerals corresponding to the
telephone number of the incoming call are provided to the
headset as an audio caller ID. A disadvantage of this
technique is that it requires that the user pre-record voice
tags for all of the contacts.
[0020] The present specification and the appended drawings
describe a different approach. The technology described
herein may address some or all of the foregoing concerns, but
is not limited merely to addressing the particular concerns
that have been identified.
[0021] One aspect of the present technology is a method for a
mobile device to provide caller information (also referred to
herein as caller data) stored on the mobile device to an
accessory device that is connected wirelessly to the mobile
device. As will be discussed below, caller information may
include a complete or shortened name of a caller with some
other information about the caller (and the user can in some
situations decide what information is to be included in the
caller information). The method includes establishing a
short-range wireless connection between the mobile device and
the accessory device (which enables the mobile device to
transmit information-including the caller information-
wirelessly to the accessory device, and which enables the
accessory device to receive that information), determining an
incoming telephone number for an incoming telephone call,
searching a directory stored on the mobile device for an entry
matching the incoming telephone number, and transmitting
caller data from the entry matching the incoming telephone
number to the accessory device. In one implementation, the
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searching may be performed with a non-linear search algorithm
which is generally much faster than a linear algorithm,
although the latter may also be employed.
[0022] Another aspect of the present technology is a
computer-readable medium upon which are stored instructions in
code that are configured or programmed to perform the
foregoing method when the code stored in the computer-readable
medium is loaded into memory and executed on a processor of a
mobile device.
[0023] Another aspect of the present technology is a related
or complementary method for an accessory device that is
connected wirelessly to a mobile device to provide audible
caller information. The method entails establishing a short-
range wireless connection between the accessory device and the
mobile device, receiving caller data matching an incoming
telephone number from a directory stored on the mobile device,
and providing the audible caller information based on the
caller data.
[0024] Another aspect of the present technology is a mobile
device comprising a short-range wireless transceiver for
establishing a short-range wireless connection between the
mobile device and an accessory device, a radiofrequency
transceiver for receiving an incoming telephone call, and a
processor operatively coupled to memory for determining an
incoming telephone number corresponding to the incoming
telephone call and for searching a directory stored on the
mobile device for an entry matching the incoming telephone
number and for instructing the short-range wireless
transceiver to transmit caller data from the entry matching
the incoming telephone number to the accessory device.
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[0025] Another aspect of the present technology is a hands-
free accessory device comprising a short-range wireless
transceiver for establishing a short-range wireless connection
between the accessory device and a mobile device and for
receiving caller data matching an incoming telephone number
from a directory stored on the mobile device and a text-to-
speech module for providing the audible caller information
based on the caller data.
[0026] Another aspect of the present technology is a system
comprising a mobile device wirelessly connected to a hands-
free accessory device. The system comprises a mobile device
including a short-range wireless transceiver for establishing
a short-range wireless connection between the mobile device
and an accessory device, a radiofrequency transceiver for
receiving an incoming telephone call, a processor operatively
coupled to memory for determining an incoming telephone number
corresponding to the incoming telephone call and for searching
a directory stored on the mobile device for an entry matching
the incoming telephone number and for instructing the short-
range wireless transceiver to transmit caller data from the
entry matching the incoming telephone number to the accessory
device. The hands-free accessory device includes a short-
range wireless transceiver for receiving the caller data and a
text-to-speech module for providing the audible caller
information based on the caller data.
[0027] The details and particulars of these aspects of the
technology will now be described below, by way of example,
with reference to the attached drawings.
[0028] FIG. 1 is a schematic depiction of one example of a
mobile device, generally designated by reference numeral 100,
on which the present technology can be implemented. It should
be expressly understood that this figure is intentionally
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simplified to show only certain main components. The mobile
device 100 may include other components beyond what is
illustrated in FIG. 1. Mobile device 100 may be any of
several electronic devices that are readily portable from
place to place, and that may include a portable power supply
(such as a battery) that enable portability. Mobile device
100 may include, for example, any device with communication
capability, such as a cellular telephone, smart phone, tablet
computer, global positioning system (GPS) device, media
player, or the like. Mobile device 100 may be handheld, that
is, sized and shaped to be held or carried in a human hand. In
some embodiments, mobile device 100 may be included in a
larger (and perhaps not handheld) device, such as a cellular
telephone built into an automobile.
[0029] As depicted by way of example in FIG. 1, the mobile
device 100 includes a microprocessor 110 (or simply a
"processor") which interacts with memory. In other words, the
processor 110 is operatively coupled to the memory in that the
processor 110 and the memory may communicate, share
information, and work together. The memory may include flash
memory 120 and/or random access memory (RAM) 130. The mobile
device includes one or more input/output devices or user
interfaces 140, such as a display screen 150 (e.g. a small LCD
screen or touch-sensitive display screen), and a keyboard or
keypad 155. The user interface may also include a thumbwheel,
trackball, track pad or optical jog pad 160. In some
embodiments, the mobile device 100 may include a touch screen
that displays visual information and serves as a user input
device. The mobile device may also include one or more ports
for wired connections (e.g. USB, HDMI, Firewire, etc.).
Although some aspects of the present technology may be adapted
to wired connections between the mobile device 100 and an
accessory device, it will be assumed for purposes of
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explanation that the present technology is expected to be
adapted to wireless connections between the mobile device 100
and the accessory device.
[0030] Where the mobile device 100 is a wireless
communications device, the mobile device 100 further includes
a radiofrequency (RF) transceiver 170 for communicating
wirelessly with one or more base stations over a cellular
wireless network using cellular communication protocols and
standards for both voice call and packet data transfer such as
GSM, CDMA, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, LTE, etc. The mobile device may
include a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card 112 for GSM-
type devices or a Re-Usable Identification Module (RUIM) card
for CDMA-type devices. The RF transceiver 170 may include
separate voice and data channels.
[0031] For telephony, the mobile device 100 may include a
microphone 180 and a speaker 182 (and optionally an earphone
jack).
[0032] The mobile device 100 may also include a positioning
system such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver
(chipset) 190 for receiving GPS radio signals transmitted from
one or more orbiting GPS satellites 192. Although the present
disclosure refers to expressly to the "Global Positioning
System", it should be understood that this term and its
abbreviation "GPS" are being used expansively to include any
satellite-based navigation-signal broadcast system, and would
therefore include other systems used around the world
including the Beidou (COMPASS) system being developed by
China, the multi-national Galileo system being developed by
the European Union, in collaboration with China, Israel,
India, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and South Korea, Russia's GLONASS
system, India's proposed Regional Navigational Satellite
System (IRNSS), and Japan's proposed QZSS regional system.
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[0033] In the implementation depicted by way of example in
FIG. 1, the mobile device includes a short-range wireless
transceiver. This short-range wireless transceiver 194 may be
a Bluetooth transceiver.
[0034] The mobile device 100 may optionally include a Wi-Fi'
transceiver 192 and/or a near-field communications (NFC) chip.
The mobile device 100 may also optionally include a
transceiver for WiMaxTM (IEEE 802.16), a transceiver for
ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4-2003 or other wireless personal area
networks), an infrared transceiver or an ultra-wideband
transceiver. The mobile device may optionally include other
sensors like a digital compass 196 and/or a tilt sensor 198.
[0035] FIG. 2 is a schematic depiction of a system that
includes a hands-free accessory device 200 that may be
connected wirelessly (or "paired", e.g., via Bluetooth ) to
the mobile device 100 such as the mobile device depicted in
FIG. 1. The wireless connection may be set up or established
in any fashion, may have any range (although for simplicity it
will be assumed that the wireless connection is short-range),
and the communication using that connection my employ any
degree of encryption or other security. Examples of a hands-
free accessory device are Bluetooth headsets, earpieces, and
visor-mounted car kits. The accessory device 200 includes a
short-range wireless transceiver 294 (e.g., a Bluetooth
transmitter). As depicted by way of example in FIG. 2, the
accessory device 200 includes a processor 210 and memory 220.
The accessory device 200 includes a text-to-speech module 230
(or other equivalent means for providing audible caller
annunciation) and optionally also a GUI 240 for visually
displaying the caller name or other caller data.
[0036] For the purposes of this specification, the expression
"short-range wireless" refers to any UHF or SHF wireless
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technologies, such as Bluetooth that operates in the 2.4 GHz
band, ZigBee that operates in the ISM radio bands, i.e. 868
MHz in Europe, 915 MHz in the USA and Australia and 2.4 GHZ in
other jurisdictions, Wi-Fi that operates in the 2.4 GHz or 5
GHz bands, or Ultra Wide Band (UWB) that operates in the 3.1-
10.6 GHz band.
[0037] The present technology generally provides a method for
a mobile device to provide (that is, to supply or convey)
caller information stored on the mobile device to an accessory
device that is connected wirelessly to the mobile device. As
depicted by way of example in FIG. 3, the method includes
optionally establishing (300) a short-range wireless
connection between the mobile device and the accessory device,
determining (302) an incoming telephone number for an incoming
telephone call, searching (304) a directory stored on the
mobile device for an entry matching the incoming telephone
number, and transmitting (306) caller data from the entry
matching the incoming telephone number to the accessory
device. Generally speaking, determining the incoming
telephone number for an incoming telephone call entails
identifying the caller by a number (conventionally, caller
identification is by number rather than by name). The
incoming caller's telephone number may be supplied to the
mobile device 100 by the incoming call itself. This method
departs from the conventional PBAP profile methodology and
instead uses the number provided by the network for searching
for the matching entry on the mobile device (AG) itself. This
is generally more efficient because the mobile device often
has a faster processor than the accessory device. Executing
the search algorithm on the processor of the mobile device
rather than on the much slower accessory device enables, in
one implementation, the use of an improved search algorithm.
By introducing hashing or any other sophisticated search
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algorithm, the speed of matching the incoming number with a
corresponding address book entry may be significantly
enhanced. By contrast, if the conventional PBAP profile method
is used, the number is relayed to the accessory device to
perform the search. Because the processor of the accessory
device is typically much slower than the processor of the
mobile device and with the linear search algorithm used by
PBAP, matching of the number with the address book entry may
be slower. The use of a linear algorithm by PBAP on the
accessory device will typically yield an O(n) search where the
latency increases linearly with the number of entries in the
address book. By performing the search on the phone or mobile
device instead, it may be possible to implement a non-linear
(e.g., 0(log n)) search algorithm, which is generally much
faster.
[0038] A complementary method is performed by the accessory
device 200. As depicted by way of example in FIG. 4, a method
for an accessory device that is connected wirelessly to a
mobile device provides audible caller information. The method
entails optionally establishing (400) a short-range wireless
connection between the accessory device and the mobile device,
receiving (402) caller data matching an incoming telephone
number from a directory stored on the mobile device, and
providing (404) (e.g., generating, supplying or otherwise
conveying) the audible caller information based on the caller
data. As noted in the preceding paragraph, because the caller
data is determined by the mobile device, e.g. using a non-
linear search algorithm, the computational burden on the
accessory is greatly alleviated, thereby freeing the processor
of the accessory for other tasks and reducing its battery
draw.
[0039] The technology thus provides a method to relay, when
an incoming call is received by an accessory device (audio
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gateway), the remote caller name to the accessory device
(handset or car kit) without the need to implement PBAP on
either the phone or on the accessory device. From the user's
point of view, an incoming call is audibly announced by an
announcement of the name of the caller in spoken language (as
generated by the text-to-speech module 230 of the accessory
device 200, for example). An incoming call may also be
announced with other audible or visual cues (such as vibration
of the mobile device or sounding of a ringtone) . A user may
hear, for example, a brief ringtone (e.g., from the mobile
device 100, the accessory device 200, or both), which cues the
user that a call is incoming, followed by a recitation of the
name of the caller. The user may then decide whether or not
to answer or accept the incoming call.
[0040] In one implementation, the caller name is conveyed
using a standard HFP CLIP indication, as an extra parameter,
in the form of a standard UTF-8 string (although other formats
made by employed in other adaptations). That string is then
used as an input to a text-to-speech (TTS) module 230 on the
accessory device 200 to announce to the user, in real time,
the name of the caller.
[0041] This caller name retrieval process may be implemented
as depicted in FIG. 5. As shown by way of example in FIG. 5,
when a remote caller calls the phone or mobile device (step
500), the phone (mobile device) matches the incoming caller
number with any phone book entry (directory entry)
corresponding to that number (step 502). If a match is found,
an ASCII string representing the caller name, as stored in the
phone book in the memory of the mobile device (handset) or on
its SIM card, is appended to the standard HFP CLIP message
(step 508), and relayed wirelessly over the Bluetooth link to
the accessory device 200 along with an incoming call alert
(504, 506). The sequence of steps 504, 506, 508 may be varied
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from what is shown. The text-to-speech (TTS) module speaks
the caller name (step 510). Optionally, a GUI on the
accessory device may display the caller name in addition to
the audible annunciation of the caller name. The user action,
i.e. to answer or ignore the call (step 514), causes the alert
to stop (step 512). An answer command or an ignore command is
sent using HFP to the accessory device (step 516). If the
answer command is sent, the audio link or audio connection
between the mobile device (handset) and the accessory device
(audio gateway) is established (at step 518).
[0042] According to the Bluetooth HFP protocol, the HFP CLIP
message is not expected to carry any parameters other than
those specifically mentioned in the HFP protocol: the caller
number and the number type. In this implementation, however,
an additional or extra field is provided to accommodate a
string (the caller's name).
[0043] Implementing the caller name indication using HFP
extends the Bluetooth HFP specification, and generally entails
implementation on both the accessory device (audio gateway)
and the mobile device (i.e. handset or phone) with which it is
paired (wirelessly connected).
[0044] The mobile device 100 is thus configured to search
for and retrieve from the directory (phone book, address book,
contacts list, etc.) stored in memory or on the SIM card (or
both) an entry matching the incoming number (at call
processing step 502). In general, searching a directory for
a matching entry includes matching the incoming telephone
number to related caller information that is stored on the
mobile device 100. In other words, the matching entry
generally includes some or all of caller information that will
be transmitted to the accessory device. This may be
accomplished using a hashing algorithm to speed up the
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retrieval process, but the technology disclosed herein is not
limited to any particular technique for matching an incoming
call by number to any particular caller information. The
mobile device composes a string representing (in a typical
example) the caller name and populates the caller name field
in the CLIP message.
[0045] The accessory device 200 is configured to expect the
caller name as an extra (non-prescribed) parameter included in
the incoming CLIP message. The accessory device 200 is
configured to use the incoming string in the caller name field
to notify the user of the caller's identity. This can be done
audibly in the form of audible output using for example a
text-to-speech (TTS) module and/or visually in the form of a
visual display on the GUI of the accessory device 200.
[0046] This technology enables the accessory device 200 to
retrieve caller name information (or other information related
to the caller) from the phone book, address book or personal
directory stored in memory or on the SIM card of the mobile
device (handset) 100 without disadvantages associated with
conventional techniques. Notably, since the address book data
is not duplicated onto the accessory device, this technology
does not give rise to certain data security issues that may
arise from duplicating data. In addition, this approach does
not burden the processor and/or memory resources of the
accessory device 200. Furthermore, no voice tags are required
to implement this approach. Implementation of one or more
embodiments may yield other benefits as well, such as enhanced
efficiency or safety, or more expedited call-handling.
Furthermore, the present technology is flexible and adaptable
to a variety of wireless connections, a variety of wireless
communication protocols, a variety of mobile devices and a
variety of accessory devices. The present technology may
also be adaptable to circumstances in which an incoming call
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is identified by more than a number, and may also be further
advantageous in that users may customize the kind or extent of
caller information that may be audibly announced by the
accessory device (as discussed below).
[0047] A similar method may be used not only for relaying the
caller name or any other caller data for a first incoming
call, but also for relaying the caller name for a waiting
call. The HFP standard message for relaying a second incoming
call indication from the mobile device 100 (or phone) to the
accessory device 200 is known as AT+CCWA. This is the
standard "call waiting notification" AT command used by the
HFP profile. The same mechanism used by the CLIP message can
be used to achieve the same end - relaying to the accessory
device the caller name of a second incoming call or a waiting
call without any need to rely on the PBAP implementation.
From the user's point of view, the user may be having a hands-
free conversation with a first caller, when a second incoming
call is received. The user may hear, in spoken language, the
name of the second caller (optionally, the user's mobile
device 100, accessory device 200, or both may be muted
automatically to keep the audible information about identity
of the second caller secret from the first caller). The user
may then choose how to handle the first and second callers.
[0048] In the foregoing examples, the caller data that is
relayed to the accessory device is the caller name as stored
in the directory on the mobile device. The caller name may be
the complete name showing in the directory, just the first
name or a nickname or a familiar name (such as "Dad") stored
in the directory in association with the caller. In other
implementations, the caller data may include other information
about the caller stored in the directory. For example, the
caller data may include the name of the company or
organization with whom the caller is employed or otherwise
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associated. The caller data may include the city, country or
other geographical entity. In these examples, the caller
annunciation might include both the caller's name and the
other information about the caller, e.g. "Bob calling from ABC
Company" or "Bob calling from Miami". Optionally, the user
may customize what caller information will be conveyed to the
accessory device or audibly announced.
[0049] Any of the methods disclosed herein may be implemented
in hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof.
Where implemented as software, the method steps, acts or
operations may be programmed or coded as computer-readable
instructions and recorded electronically, magnetically or
optically on a fixed or non-transitory computer-readable
medium, computer-readable memory, machine-readable memory or
computer program product. In other words, the computer-
readable memory or computer-readable medium comprises
instructions in code which when loaded into a memory and
executed on a processor of a computing device cause the
computing device to perform one or more of the foregoing
method(s).
[0050] A computer-readable medium can be any means that
contain, store, communicate, propagate or transport the
program for use by or in connection with the instruction
execution system, apparatus or device. The computer-readable
medium may be electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,
infrared or any semiconductor system or device. For example,
computer executable code to perform the methods disclosed
herein may be tangibly recorded on a computer-readable medium
including, but not limited to, a floppy-disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD,
RAM, ROM, EPROM, Flash Memory or any suitable memory card,
etc. The method may also be implemented in hardware. A
hardware implementation might employ discrete logic circuits
having logic gates for implementing logic functions on data
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signals, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)
having appropriate combinational logic gates, a programmable
gate array (PGA), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.
[0051] This invention has been described in terms of specific
embodiments, implementations and configurations which are
intended to be exemplary only. Persons of ordinary skill in
the art will appreciate, having read this disclosure, that
many obvious variations, modifications and refinements may be
made without departing from the inventive concept(s) presented
herein. The scope of the exclusive right sought by the
Applicant(s) is therefore intended to be limited solely by the
appended claims.
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