阅读说明：本技术 高速电路及产生低干扰差分迹线的方法 (High speed circuit and method for generating low interference differential trace ) 是由 李政宪 于 2019-05-14 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开一种高速电路及产生低干扰差分迹线的方法。高速电路具有一印刷电路板。一对的第一差分信号迹线和第二差分信号迹线是形成在印刷电路板的一第一表面上。第一差分信号迹线和第二差分信号迹线传输一电信号。一部分回路延伸通过印刷电路板。部分回路包括位于第一差分信号迹线和第二差分信号迹线下方的第一端槽和第二端槽。部分回路包括实质上平行于第一差分信号迹线和第二差分信号迹线的一对的侧槽。一固定构件将印刷电路板连接至由第一端槽、第二端槽与侧槽形成的一分隔区。固定构件在第一端槽和第二端槽中的一者或在侧槽中形成一间隙。侧槽的长度与间隙的长度可选定以降低来自电信号的一目标共同模态频率。(The invention discloses a high-speed circuit and a method for generating low-interference differential traces. The high-speed circuit has a printed circuit board. A pair of first and second differential signal traces are formed on a first surface of the printed circuit board. The first differential signal trace and the second differential signal trace transmit an electrical signal. A portion of the loop extends through the printed circuit board. The partial loop includes a first end slot and a second end slot located below the first differential signal trace and the second differential signal trace. The partial loop includes a side slot substantially parallel to a pair of the first differential signal trace and the second differential signal trace. A fixing member connects the printed circuit board to a partition formed by the first end groove, the second end groove and the side groove. The securing member forms a gap in one of the first and second end slots or in the side slot. The length of the side slots and the length of the gaps are selected to reduce a target common mode frequency from the electrical signal.)

1. A high-speed circuit, comprising:

the printed circuit board is provided with a first surface;

a pair of first and second differential signal traces on the first surface of the printed circuit board; the first differential signal trace and the second differential signal trace transmit an electrical signal;

a partial loop extending through the printed circuit board, the partial loop including first and second end slots located below the first and second differential signal traces and a pair of side slots substantially parallel to the first and second differential signal traces;

a fixing member connecting the printed circuit board to a partition formed by the first end groove, the second end groove and the two side grooves, the fixing member forming a gap in one of the first end groove and the second end groove or in the two side grooves;

wherein the length of the two-sided slot and the length of the gap are selected to reduce a target frequency from the electrical signal.

2. The high speed circuit of claim 1, wherein the two side slots have the same shape.

3. The high speed circuit of claim 1, wherein the length of the two side slots and the length of the gap are determined by:

wherein the length of the two side grooves is L_pathThe length of the gap is L_gapTD is a time delay per milli-inch (mil) length of a differential signal transmitted in the first and second differential signal traces, f is a target frequency, and K is₁And K₂Is a scaling factor.

4. A high speed circuit as recited in claim 3, wherein the length of the gap and the length of the two side slots are limited to:

5. the high speed circuit of claim 1, wherein the securing member is located in the middle of one of the two side slots.

6. The high-speed circuit of claim 1, wherein the target frequency is dependent on a trace data rate of the electrical signal transmitted on the first and second differential signal traces.

7. A method of generating a low-interference differential trace, the method comprising:

forming a first differential signal trace and a second differential signal trace on a first surface of a printed circuit board;

selecting a path length and a gap length of a partial loop on the printed circuit board to reduce a target frequency from signals transmitted by the first differential signal trace and the second differential signal trace;

forming first and second end slots below the first and second differential signal traces, the first and second end slots separated by the selected path length;

forming a pair of side slots connecting the first end slot and the second end slot; and

forming a securing member to form a gap in one of the first end slot and the second end slot or in one of the two side slots, the gap having a length selected to be the gap length.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the two side grooves have the same shape.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the length of the two side slots and the length of the gap are determined by:

wherein the length of the two side grooves is L_pathThe length of the gap is L_gapTD is a time delay per milli-inch (mil) length of differential signal transmission in the first and second differential signal traces, f is a target frequency, and K is₁And K₂Is a scaling factor.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the length of the gap and the length of the two side slots are limited by:

11. the method of claim 7, wherein the securing member is located in the middle of one of the two side slots.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the target frequency is dependent on a trace data rate of the electrical signal transmitted on the first and second differential signal traces.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to high speed traces and, more particularly, to the structure of a portion of a loop on a circuit board to suppress radiation from a high speed differential signal trace.

Background

High-speed differential signal traces are widely used in product designs for servers or memories. Many server or memory products include a chassis (chassis) that is mounted to different printed circuit boards for electronic components. The printed circuit board includes various signal traces to provide signals to components on the printed circuit board. The signal traces are typically provided in differential trace pairs (differential trace pairs) for a particular signal line. Such differential traces on a printed circuit board have different modes, including differential mode, common mode, and mode conversion between differential signals during transmission. As more and more product applications include differential signal conversion between different circuit boards or between a circuit board and a cable, common mode energy will be radiated through the connector to the hole in the chassis by this conversion. The common mode energy produces a signal on both differential traces. Thus, common mode energy may thereby generate noise that disrupts signal transmission on the traces and creates interference problems. Thus, radiation is generated when the differential signal passes through a skewing channel (skewed channel) or a printed circuit board.

Fig. 1 is an example of a prior art return circuit trace 10 on a printed circuit board 12. The printed circuit board 12 is attached to a ground plane layer 14. The return circuit trace 10 includes a differential trace 22 and a differential trace 24 on a surface 20 of the printed circuit board 12. The ground plane layer 14 contacts an opposite surface of the printed circuit board 12. An insertion current in the differential trace 22 is shown by arrow 30. An induced current in the differential traces 24 is shown by arrows 32. Arrow 34 shows a return current generated in the ground plane layer 14 below the differential trace 22. In fig. 1, the insertion current minus the coupling term (coupling terms) shown by arrow 30 is the common modal energy.

In current circuit designs, a common mode filter (common mode filter) is used to reduce signal radiation on the differential traces. Thus, the circuit components of the common mode filter are implemented on a printed circuit board on the wiring of the differential traces to reduce signal radiation from the traces. The use of a common mode filter is effective, but the circuitry of the filter requires space on the printed circuit board. This creates a space problem for the layout of the circuit board, considering that as many components as possible need to be placed on the printed circuit board to use all physical surface space.

Therefore, there is a need for a common mode filter in a printed circuit board having less spaced differential traces and an effective bandwidth (effective bandwidth) to reduce radiation caused by common mode energy. It is desirable to apply a portion of the ring shape to a printed circuit board to form a common mode filter.

Disclosure of Invention

An example of a disclosed circuit is a high speed circuit. The high-speed circuit has a printed circuit board having a first surface. A pair (a pair of) a first differential signal trace and a second differential signal trace are located on a first surface of the printed circuit board. The first differential signal trace and the second differential signal trace transmit an electrical signal. A portion of the loop (partial loop) extends through the printed circuit board. The partial loop includes a first end slot and a second end slot below the first differential signal trace and the second differential signal trace. The partial loop includes a pair of side slots substantially parallel to the first differential signal trace and the second differential signal trace. A fixing member (anchor member) connects the printed circuit board to a divided area (island) formed by the first end groove, the second end groove and the side groove. The securing member forms a gap in one of the first and second end slots or in the side slot. The length of the side slots and the length of the gap are selected to reduce the target mode frequency from the electrical signal.

Another example disclosed is a method of generating a low interference differential trace. A first differential signal trace and a second differential signal trace are formed on a first surface of a printed circuit board. A path length and a gap length of a portion of the loop on the printed circuit board are selected to reduce a target frequency from a signal transmitted by the first differential signal trace and the second differential signal trace. A first end slot and a second end slot are formed below the first differential signal trace and the second differential signal trace. The first end slot and the second end slot are separated by a selected path length. A pair of side grooves connecting the first end groove and the second end groove is formed. A securing member is formed to form a gap in one of the first end slot and the second end slot or in one of the two side slots, the length of the gap being a selected gap length.

Another disclosed example is a high speed differential trace structure including a first differential signal trace, a second differential signal trace parallel to the first differential signal trace, a printed circuit board, a ground plane layer, a portion of a loop, and a securing member. The printed circuit board has a top surface and an opposite bottom surface. The first differential signal trace and the second differential signal trace are formed on the top surface. The ground plane layer has a top layer that contacts an opposite bottom surface of the printed circuit board. A partial loop extends through the printed circuit board, the partial loop including a first end slot and a second end slot located below the first differential signal trace and the second differential signal trace and a pair of side slots substantially parallel to the first differential signal trace and the second differential signal trace. The fixing member connects the printed circuit board to a partition formed by the first end groove, the second end groove and the two side grooves, the fixing member forming a gap in one of the first end groove and the second end groove or in the two side grooves. The length of the two-sided slot and the length of the gap are selected based on an electrical signal transmitted through the first differential signal trace and the second differential signal trace to reduce a common mode frequency.

The above summary is not intended to represent each embodiment or every aspect of the present invention. Rather, the foregoing summary merely provides an exemplification of some of the novel aspects and features set forth herein. The above features and advantages and other features and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the representative embodiments and aspects of the present invention when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and appended claims.

Drawings

In order that the manner in which the above recited and other aspects of the present invention are obtained can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized below, may be had by reference to the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a prior art printed circuit board having a differential trace radiating from common mode operation;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a printed circuit board having a differential trace and a portion of a loop as a filter for common mode radiation;

FIG. 2B is a top view of the printed circuit board of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram of another printed circuit board having a portion of the loop as a filter for common mode radiation from the signal traces;

FIG. 3 is a graphical representation of the output levels of the differential traces of FIGS. 2A and 2B at different frequencies, illustrating the effect of a portion of the loop;

FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating the output levels of different frequencies for different lengths of a portion of a loop;

FIG. 5 is a table diagram of predicted and measured frequency responses for partial loops having different lengths and gap widths.

The invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. Representative embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following appended claims.

Description of the symbols

10: return circuit trace

12. 100, 200: printed circuit board

14: ground plane layer

20: surface of

22. 24: differential trace

30. 32, 34: arrow head

40: first interface

42: second interface

44: third interface

46: fourth interface

110. 112, 112: differential signal traces

114: top surface

130. 230: partial loop

132. 232: separate zone

134. 234: bridge connector

140. 142: end slot

144. 146: side groove

150. 152: trough part

240: big circular groove

302: first curve

304: second curve

306: third curve

308: fourth curve

310: fifth curve

410. 420: curve line

L_path、L_gap: length of

S_cc21: common mode output

Detailed Description

The invention may be embodied in many different forms. The accompanying drawings illustrate representative embodiments and will be described in detail herein. The present invention is an exemplification or illustration of the principles of the application and is not intended to limit the broad aspect disclosed to the embodiment illustrated. In this regard, elements and limitations that are disclosed in, for example, the abstract, summary, and sections of the embodiments but not explicitly recited in the claims are not intended to be, or are inferred to be, incorporated into the claims individually or collectively. For purposes of this detailed description, the singular includes the plural and vice versa, unless specifically stated otherwise. And the terms "including" and "comprising" mean "including but not limited to". Moreover, approximating words, such as "about (about)," almost (almost), "" substantially (substantailly), "" approximately (appoximately), "and the like, may be used herein to mean" at, "" near (near), "" near (near at), "" or "within 3-5%", or "within acceptable manufacturing tolerances," or any reasonable combination thereof.

Fig. 2A is a perspective view of a printed circuit board 100 having a differential trace and a portion of the loop that acts as a common mode filter to reduce radiation in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2B is a top view of the printed circuit board 100. The printed circuit board 100 is mounted on a ground plane. As shown in fig. 2A, the printed circuit board 100 includes a pair of differential signal traces 110 and differential signal traces 112, and the differential signal traces 110 and the differential signal traces 112 are fabricated on a top surface 114 of the printed circuit board 100. The differential signal traces 110 and the differential signal traces 112 form a channel that allows signals to be transmitted between a transmitter assembly and a receiver assembly. Although the shape of the differential signal traces 110 and 112 is generally rectangular in this example, the differential signal traces may be any shape. In addition, additional traces may be formed on an opposite side of the printed circuit board 100 from the top surface 114.

To reduce interference, the printed circuit board 100 includes a portion of the loop 130 structure to reduce common mode energy. For example, the structure of the partial loop 130 may reduce the common mode energy at a target frequency of an example of 8 GHz. The addition of such a partial loop 130 structure suppresses electrical noise generated by traces on the printed circuit board 100. The target frequency depends on the trace data rate (trace datarate) of the signals transmitted on the differential signal traces 110 and the differential signal traces 112. The target frequency is determined by interference testing of the printed circuit board 100.

The partial loop 130 is formed by etching away a portion of the printed circuit board 100. Thus, a separation zone (island)132 of material of the printed circuit board is formed below the differential signal traces 110 and 112. The separation region 132 is attached to the remainder of the printed circuit board 100 via a bridge 134. As will be explained, the area required for the partial loop 130 is less than the area currently used by the filter, thereby freeing up more surface area on the printed circuit board 100. The partial loop 130 includes a pair of end slots 140 and 142, the end slots 140 and 142 being etched through the printed circuit board 100. Each end slot 140 and end slot 142 is connected at one end by a pair of side slots 144 and 146. Side slots 144 and 146 are also etched through the printed circuit board 100 near the differential signal traces 110 and 112. In this example, the side slot 144 is continuous, while the side slot 146 is interrupted by the bridge 134. Therefore, the side groove 146 is divided into a groove portion (slot segment)150 and a groove portion 152. Thus, a second end of each end slot 140 and 142 is connected to an end of the respective slot portion 150 and 152. Each respective slot 150 and 152 has an opposite end terminating in a bridge 134. As shown in fig. 2A and 2B, the side grooves 144 are substantially parallel to the side grooves 146. Thus, bridge 134 forms a gap to form part of a loop from end slot 140, end slot 142, side slot 144, and side slot 146. The seating arrangement of the bridge 134 in this example is such that the lengths of the slots 150 and 152 are approximately equal. However, the location of the bridge 134 may be anywhere on the side slot 144 or the side slot 146. The bridge 134 may also be seated on one of the end slots 140 and 142, in addition to the portions of the end slots 140 and 142 between the differential signal lines 110 and 112.

The partial loop 130 disclosed in this example reduces common mode radiation of signals transmitted by the differential signal traces 110 and the differential signal traces 112 at a target frequency. The loop length and the fractional loop parameters of the gap length may be adjusted to reduce the common modal energy from the differential signal traces 110 and 112 and the target frequency. The partial loop 130 relies on modeling (modeling) of a differential trace circuit using a four interface s-parameter.

For a four interface (two signal traces) S parameter, there are insertion (insertion term) S31 and insertion term S42 and induction (induction term) S41 and induction S32. For example, in fig. 1, the differential traces 22 may be modeled (modeling) based on the first interface 40, the second interface 42, the third interface 44, and the fourth interface 46. Based on the cold-order law (Lenz' sLaw), the inductive term has an opposite direction with respect to the insertion term. Differential output (S) of the differential signal based on a mixed mode S-parameter formula_dd21) Can be expressed as:

common mode output (S) of differential signals based on mixed mode S-parameter formula_cc21) Can be expressed as:

the approach of reducing the common mode output energy via the structure of the partial loop 130 in fig. 2A and 2B involves increasing the coupling term (coupling term). As shown in fig. 1, there is a return current of the differential signal, shown by arrow 34, in the ground plane 14 directly below the differential trace 22. The return current indicated by arrow 34 flows in the opposite direction of the current indicated by arrow 30. Thus, a return current path can be designed such that destructive interference of the target frequency (destructive interference) occurs. In this case, an adjacent trace (e.g., differential trace 24) will be a new path for return current. This new return current path increases the coupling term. Therefore, the common mode energy will be greatly reduced. For a differential signal on a trace, the return current in the ground plane will flow in the opposite direction below the trace. Thus, the structure of the partial loop, such as the partial loop 130, may be designed to filter a return current divided at the target frequency. The structure of the partial loop 130 provides additional inductance and capacitance and acts as an LC filter for the return current.

In this case, the adjacent trace will become a new path for the return current and cause the coupling term to increase. Thus, if a differential signal flows through the differential signal traces 110, the return current path will be routed by the partial loop 130 through the differential signal traces 112. Therefore, the common mode energy will be greatly reduced. The formula to reduce the common mode energy is expressed as:

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

in the above-mentioned algebraic expression, the length of the partial loop is L_pathAnd the length of the gap between the two slots in the loop is L_gap. TD represents the time delay per milli-inch (mil) length of a differential signal traveling in the differential trace and the center, f is the target frequency, K₁And K₂Is a scaling coefficient (scaling coefficient) that depends on the physical structure of the differential trace pair, including thickness and material of the traces. In this example, the ratio isThe numbers are fitted (fitting) constants by analog values. Different Printed Circuit Board (PCB) structures will have different scaling factors. By using the above algebraic expressions, the optimal path length of the partial loop and the gap length in the partial loop can be determined to reduce the radiation at the target frequency. The determined length can then be applied in the manufacture of slots of a circuit board, such slots (slots) constituting part of the loop under the differential traces. The partial loop may have other different shapes.

Fig. 2C shows a top view of a partial loop of a different shape. Fig. 2C depicts an exemplary printed circuit board 200 to support differential signal traces 110 and differential signal traces 112 similar to those in fig. 2A. The printed circuit board 200 is mounted on a ground plane. To reduce interference, printed circuit board 200 includes a structure that reduces portions of loop 230 of common mode energy. For example, the structure of the partial loop 230 may reduce the common modal energy at an exemplary target frequency of 8 GHz. The use of this partial loop 230 configuration reduces electrical noise generated by traces on the printed circuit board 200. The target frequency depends on the trace data rate of the signal transmitted on the traces (not shown) on the printed circuit board 200.

A portion of the printed circuit board 200 is etched away to form a partial loop 230. Thus, a separate section 232 of printed circuit board material is formed beneath the signal traces formed on printed circuit board 200. The separation region 232 is attached to the remainder of the printed circuit board 200 via a bridge 234. The area required for the partial loop 230 is less than the area currently used by the filter, thereby freeing up more surface area on the printed circuit board 200. The partial loop 230 includes a large circular slot 240 etched through the printed circuit board 200. Each end of the large circular slot 240 terminates in a bridge 234. However, the location of the bridge 234 may be anywhere on the large circular groove 240. The partial loop 230 disclosed in this example reduces common mode radiation from signals transmitted by the traces at the target frequency. Partial loop parameters such as the length of the loop and the length of the gap can be adjusted to reduce the common modal energy and target frequency from the signals on the track.

FIG. 3 shows a diagram, whichExemplary outputs from different partial loop parameters are shown using the design methodology described previously in connection with the exemplary printed circuit board 100 shown in fig. 2A and 2B. The curve in FIG. 3 is the fitting scaling factor K₁And K₂The simulation result of (1). Figure 3 shows various comparisons of plots of magnitude versus frequency for the induction term values. The profile of each induction term shown in fig. 3 is formed by a constant loop path length (328 mils) but with different gap lengths to break the loop. Thus, a first curve 302 represents a gap length of 4 mils (mil), a second curve 304 represents a gap length of 20 mils (mil), a third curve 306 represents a gap length of 40 mils (mil), a fourth curve 308 represents a gap length of 60 mils (mil), a fifth curve 310 represents a gap length of 80 mils (mil), and a sixth curve 312 represents a gap length of 100 mils (mil).

In this example, for each curve, the target frequency is 8GHz and the Time Delay (TD) is 1.4285 x 10^-13And second. In this example, exemplary micro-strip traces, such as differential signal trace 110 and differential signal trace 112 of fig. 2A-2C, are made of a dielectric material having a dielectric constant of 3.8 and a thickness of 2.7 milli-inches (mil). Corresponding to these parameters, the proportionality coefficient K₁And K₂Respectively, a constant of 1.5 and 2/3. In this case, the path length (L) of the partial loop_path) Is 328 milli-inches (mil) and the gap length may vary depending on the desired target frequency. In this example, the minimum width between the differential signal traces 110 and 112 in fig. 2A may be 25 milli-inches (mil). The minimum length of the slot parallel to the differential signal traces 110 and the differential signal traces 112 is 4 milli-inches (mil).

Having different gap lengths (L) can be calculated and verified by creating a simulation (simulation) of a 3D structure in an electronic design automation tool (EDA tool)_gap) Common mode output (S)_cc21) To simulate an equivalent channel model (equivalent channel model). In contrast to other shapes of etched designs, such as U-shaped voids requiring a longer path length (e.g., 440 mils)In contrast, the structure of the partial loop 130 in fig. 2A to 2C may have a deep drop (deep drop) at the same target frequency, but requires a smaller routing area (routingarea) on the pcb 100.

FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating a comparison of curves associated with different path lengths to reduce common mode energy. Thus, fig. 4 depicts a curve 410 of a loop configuration (e.g., the configuration of the partial loop 130 of fig. 2A-2C) having a path length of 328 mils and a gap length between the grooves of a 4 mil side groove. The second curve 420 shows the gap length between the groove portions having a path length of 428 mils and a side groove of 80 mils. In curve 410, the maximum drop in amplitude occurs near the target frequency of 8 GHz. In curve 420, the corresponding maximum drop in amplitude occurs at about 8 GHz. This shows the need to minimize the gap between the slots forming part of the loop structure in figure 2. Thus, fig. 4 shows that the technique described in the foregoing is not dependent on the ground void length (ground void). The first curve 410 has a ground void length of 344 mils (348 mils minus 4 mils). The second curve 420 has a ground cavity length of 348 mils (428 mils minus 80 inches). Thus, curves 410 and 420 have similar ground hole lengths, but produce different results in decreasing energy for the common mode.

Fig. 5 shows a graph of different path lengths and gap lengths and the resulting calculated actual and desired reduction frequencies. The actual reduction frequency calculated is based on the above-mentioned algebraic expression. The desired reduction frequency is determined by the simulation results. The table of fig. 5 shows that a gap of 4 mils and a path length of 348 mils can achieve a reduced frequency of 8GHz, which is closest to the target value. For the longer path length of 428 mils and gap length of 80 mils, the desired drop frequency is 8.8GHz, while the actual drop frequency is 8.91 GHz. Thus, the last entry reflects curve 420 in FIG. 4.

As used in this application, terms such as "component," "model," "system," and the like generally refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware (e.g., a circuit), a combination of hardware and software, or an entity associated with a operating machine that has one or more particular functions. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor (e.g., a digital signal 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 controller and the controller 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. Furthermore, an "apparatus" may take the form of specially designed hardware, hardware specially designed for the execution of a specific function by executing software thereon, software stored on a computer-readable medium, or a combination thereof.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," including, "" having, "" involving, "or similar terms, as used in the specification and/or claims, are intended to cover the meanings of the terms" comprising "or" including.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Although the invention has been illustrated and described with respect to one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described embodiments. Instead, the scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents.