阅读说明：本技术 制冰机及其控制方法与装置 (Ice maker and control method and device thereof ) 是由 王君 于 2019-09-24 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种制冰机及其控制方法与装置,所述方法包括：识别制冰机的进水流程执行完毕；控制所述制冰机禁止响应冷冻制冰请求；识别所述制冰机中冷冻间室达到目标状态,控制所述制冰机执行剩余制冰流程。该方法能够在制冰机进水完成后,为制冰机中的溶液预留出降温的时间,使得制冰机在执行冷冻制冰流程时溶液的温度与冷冻间室中的温度的差值处于预设范围中,使得溶液能够均匀凝结成冰,避免了因溶液的温度与冷冻间室中的温度相差较大,而导致冷冻制冰时溶液表面和内部降温不一致,进而引起的制冰机所制冰块开裂的问题,提高了制冰机所制冰块的品质。(The invention discloses an ice maker and a control method and a control device thereof, wherein the method comprises the following steps: recognizing that the water inlet flow of the ice maker is finished; controlling the ice maker to prohibit the response to the frozen ice making request; and identifying that the freezing chamber in the ice machine reaches a target state, and controlling the ice machine to execute the residual ice making process. The method can reserve cooling time for the solution in the ice maker after water is fed into the ice maker, so that the difference value between the temperature of the solution and the temperature in the freezing chamber is in a preset range when the ice maker executes a freezing and ice making process, the solution can be uniformly condensed into ice, the problem that the temperature of the solution is inconsistent with the temperature inside the solution when the ice maker makes ice due to large difference between the temperature of the solution and the temperature in the freezing chamber, and then ice cubes made by the ice maker crack is solved, and the quality of the ice cubes made by the ice maker is improved.)

1. A method of controlling an ice making machine, the method comprising:

recognizing that the water inlet flow of the ice maker is finished;

controlling the ice maker to prohibit the response to the frozen ice making request;

and identifying that the freezing chamber in the ice machine reaches a target state, and controlling the ice machine to execute the residual ice making process.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said controlling the ice maker to refrain from responding to a frozen ice making request comprises:

and controlling a compressor in the ice maker to be in a stop state, and controlling a freezing fan in the ice maker to be in a stop state.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said identifying that a freezer compartment in said ice-making machine has reached a target state comprises:

detecting and determining that the time length for which the ice maker forbids to respond to the frozen ice making request reaches a first preset time length.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said identifying that a freezer compartment in said ice-making machine has reached a target state comprises:

detecting and determining that the temperature of the solution in the freezing chamber is less than or equal to a first preset temperature.

5. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein said controlling the ice maker to perform a residual ice making process comprises:

controlling the ice maker to respond to the frozen ice making request;

and detecting and determining that the time length of the ice making machine responding to the freezing ice making request reaches a second preset time length, and controlling the ice making machine to respond to the ice removing request until the ice removing process is completed.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said controlling said ice maker to respond to said frozen ice-making request comprises:

obtaining a compartment temperature in the freezer compartment;

acquiring a second preset temperature at which the freezing chamber starts to work;

and controlling a compressor and a freezing fan in the ice machine to be turned on or turned off according to the compartment temperature and the second preset temperature.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said controlling a compressor and a freeze fan in the ice maker to turn on or off based on the compartment temperature and the second preset temperature comprises:

detecting and determining that the room temperature is greater than or equal to the second preset temperature, and controlling the compressor and the refrigerating fan to be started;

and detecting and determining that the room temperature is lower than the second preset temperature, and controlling the compressor and the refrigerating fan to be closed.

8. A control device for an ice making machine, the device comprising:

the identification module is used for identifying the completion of the water inlet flow of the ice maker;

the first control module is used for controlling the ice machine to forbid responding to a freezing ice-making request;

and the second control module is used for identifying that the freezing chamber in the ice machine reaches a target state and controlling the ice machine to execute the residual ice making process.

9. An ice maker, characterized by comprising a control device of the ice maker as claimed in claim 8.

10. An electronic device comprising a memory, a processor;

wherein the processor executes a program corresponding to the executable program code by reading the executable program code stored in the memory for implementing the control method of the ice maker according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

11. A computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, characterized in that the program, when executed by a processor, implements the control method of an ice maker according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of household appliances, in particular to an ice maker and a control method and device thereof.

Background

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is directed to solving, at least to some extent, one of the technical problems in the related art.

Therefore, a first object of the present invention is to provide a method for controlling an ice maker, which can prevent ice cubes made by the ice maker from cracking and improve the quality of ice cubes made by the ice maker.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a control device for an ice making machine.

A third object of the present invention is to provide an ice maker.

A fourth object of the invention is to propose an electronic device.

A fifth object of the present invention is to propose a computer-readable storage medium.

In order to achieve the above object, an embodiment of a first aspect of the present invention provides a control method for an ice making machine, where the method includes:

recognizing that the water inlet flow of the ice maker is finished;

controlling the ice maker to prohibit the response to the frozen ice making request;

and identifying that the freezing chamber in the ice machine reaches a target state, and controlling the ice machine to execute the residual ice making process.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the controlling the ice maker to prohibit a response to a frozen ice making request includes:

and controlling a compressor in the ice maker to be in a stop state, and controlling a freezing fan in the ice maker to be in a stop state.

According to one embodiment of the invention, said identifying that a freezer compartment in said ice-making machine has reached a target state comprises:

detecting and determining that the time length for which the ice maker forbids to respond to the frozen ice making request reaches a first preset time length.

According to one embodiment of the invention, said identifying that a freezer compartment in said ice-making machine has reached a target state comprises:

detecting and determining that the temperature of the solution in the freezing chamber is less than or equal to a first preset temperature.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the controlling the ice maker to perform a remaining ice making process includes:

controlling the ice maker to respond to the frozen ice making request;

and detecting and determining that the time length of the ice making machine responding to the freezing ice making request reaches a second preset time length, and controlling the ice making machine to respond to the ice removing request until the ice removing process is completed.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the controlling the ice maker to respond to the ice making request includes:

obtaining a compartment temperature in the freezer compartment;

acquiring a second preset temperature at which the freezing chamber starts to work;

and controlling a compressor and a freezing fan in the ice machine to be turned on or turned off according to the compartment temperature and the second preset temperature.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the controlling the compressor and the freezing fan in the ice maker to be turned on or off according to the compartment temperature and the second preset temperature includes:

detecting and determining that the room temperature is greater than or equal to the second preset temperature, and controlling the compressor and the refrigerating fan to be started;

and detecting and determining that the room temperature is lower than the second preset temperature, and controlling the compressor and the refrigerating fan to be closed.

According to the control method of the ice maker provided by the embodiment of the invention, after water is fed into the ice maker, the time for cooling the solution in the ice maker is reserved, so that the difference value between the temperature of the solution and the temperature in the freezing chamber is in the preset range when the ice maker executes the freezing and ice making process, the solution can be uniformly condensed into ice, the problem that the temperature of the solution is inconsistent with the temperature inside the freezing chamber when the ice maker performs freezing and ice making due to the large difference between the temperature of the solution and the temperature in the freezing chamber, and then the ice made by the ice maker is cracked is solved, and the quality of the ice made by the ice maker is improved.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a control device for an ice making machine, the device including:

the identification module is used for identifying the completion of the water inlet flow of the ice maker;

the first control module is used for controlling the ice machine to forbid responding to a freezing ice-making request;

and the second control module is used for identifying that the freezing chamber in the ice machine reaches a target state and controlling the ice machine to execute the residual ice making process.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first control module is further configured to:

and controlling a compressor in the ice maker to be in a stop state, and controlling a freezing fan in the ice maker to be in a stop state.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second control module is further configured to:

detecting and determining that the time length for which the ice maker forbids to respond to the frozen ice making request reaches a first preset time length.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second control module is further configured to:

detecting and determining that the temperature of the solution in the freezing chamber is less than or equal to a first preset temperature.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second control module is further configured to:

controlling the ice maker to respond to the frozen ice making request;

and detecting and determining that the time length of the ice making machine responding to the freezing ice making request reaches a second preset time length, and controlling the ice making machine to respond to the ice removing request until the ice removing process is completed.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second control module is further configured to:

obtaining a compartment temperature in the freezer compartment;

acquiring a second preset temperature at which the freezing chamber starts to work;

and controlling a compressor and a freezing fan in the ice machine to be turned on or turned off according to the compartment temperature and the second preset temperature.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second control module is further configured to:

detecting and determining that the room temperature is greater than or equal to the second preset temperature, and controlling the compressor and the refrigerating fan to be started;

and detecting and determining that the room temperature is lower than the second preset temperature, and controlling the compressor and the refrigerating fan to be closed.

The control device of the ice maker provided by the embodiment of the invention can reserve the time for cooling the solution in the ice maker after the water feeding of the ice maker is finished, so that the difference value between the temperature of the solution and the temperature in the freezing chamber is in the preset range when the ice maker executes the freezing and ice making process, the solution can be uniformly condensed into ice, the problem that the temperature of the solution is inconsistent with the temperature in the freezing chamber when the ice maker performs freezing and ice making and the ice cubes so as to crack the ice cubes made by the ice maker is avoided, and the quality of the ice cubes made by the ice maker is improved.

In a third aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide an ice making machine, including: the control device of the ice maker according to the embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention.

A fourth aspect of the present invention provides an electronic device, including a memory, a processor;

wherein the processor executes a program corresponding to the executable program code by reading the executable program code stored in the memory, for implementing the control method of the ice maker described in the first aspect.

An embodiment of a fifth aspect of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, which when executed by a processor, implements the method of controlling an ice maker as set forth in the first aspect.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic flow chart diagram of a method of controlling an ice making machine in one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating steps of controlling an ice maker to perform a remaining ice making process in a method of controlling an ice maker according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating steps of controlling an ice maker to respond to a request for making ice by freezing in a method for controlling an ice maker according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of the control steps of a method of controlling an ice making machine in one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the control device of the ice making machine in one embodiment of the disclosed invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an ice making machine in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device in an embodiment of the disclosure.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar function throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the drawings are illustrative and intended to be illustrative of the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.

An ice maker and a method and apparatus for controlling the same according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart diagram illustrating a method of controlling an ice maker in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 1, the method for controlling an ice maker in the present embodiment includes the steps of:

s101, recognizing that the water inlet flow of the ice maker is finished.

Generally, an ice making process of an ice maker includes water inlet, frozen ice making, and ice removal. After the user controls the ice maker to start ice making, the ice maker executes a water inlet flow.

Optionally, whether the ice maker completes the water inlet flow can be judged according to the time length of the ice maker to execute the water inlet flow. When the ice maker starts to execute the water inlet flow, a timer is used for timing so as to record the time length of the ice maker for executing the water inlet flow; when the time length of the water inlet flow executed by the ice machine reaches the preset water inlet time length, the ice machine can be determined to finish the water inlet flow.

Optionally, whether the water inlet process of the ice maker is finished or not can be judged according to the liquid level of a solution containing part (such as an ice cube tray) in the freezing chamber of the ice maker. The liquid level sensor can be used for detecting the liquid level in the solution containing part, when the liquid level in the solution containing part reaches the preset liquid level, the ice machine can be determined to finish the water inlet flow, and the ice machine is controlled not to execute the water inlet flow.

And S102, controlling the ice maker to forbid responding to the freezing ice making request.

Specifically, since the temperature of the solution supplied to the solution containing portion of the freezing compartment is higher than the temperature of the freezing compartment when the ice maker performs the water inlet process, if the ice maker is controlled to respond to the ice making request and start performing the ice making process, the temperature of the surface of the solution is easily rapidly decreased to freeze ice. And the temperature in the solution is slowly reduced, so that when the surface of the solution is frozen, the solution still exists in the form of the solution. Along with the increase of the time of the ice making machine for performing the freezing and ice making process, the solution is also condensed into ice, and the volume of the solution condensed into ice is increased, so that the ice condensed in the solution is easy to crack the ice condensed on the surface of the solution, and the quality of ice blocks made by the ice making machine is further influenced.

Optionally, in this embodiment, after it is recognized that the ice maker completes the water inlet process, the ice maker is controlled to prohibit the ice maker from responding to the ice making and freezing request, so as to avoid that the ice maker executes the instruction of ice making and freezing immediately when completing the water inlet process, thereby reserving a time for cooling the solution in the freezing compartment. The compressor in the ice maker can be controlled to be in a stop state, and the freezing fan in the ice maker is controlled to be in a stop state, so that the ice maker can be prohibited from executing a freezing and ice making process, namely, the ice maker is prohibited from responding to a freezing and ice making request.

And S103, identifying that the freezing chamber in the ice machine reaches a target state, and controlling the ice machine to execute the rest ice making process.

Specifically, after the ice maker is controlled to prohibit response to the ice freezing and making request, the state of the freezing chamber in the ice maker is detected, and when the state of the freezing chamber is detected to reach the target state, the ice maker can be controlled to execute the rest ice making process, such as ice freezing and making, ice removing and the like. It should be understood that when the state of the freezing chamber reaches the target state, the difference value between the temperature of the solution in the freezing chamber and the temperature in the freezing chamber is within the preset temperature difference value range, so that the solution can be uniformly condensed into ice, the problem that the temperature of the solution is not uniformly reduced on the surface and the inside of the solution when the ice is frozen and made due to the fact that the temperature difference between the temperature of the solution and the temperature in the freezing chamber is large, and then the ice blocks made by the ice making machine crack is solved, and the quality of the ice blocks made by the ice making machine is improved.

Alternatively, the determination may be made based on the length of time that the ice maker is inhibited from responding to the frozen ice-making request when identifying whether the freezer compartment in the ice maker has reached the target state. When the time length for which the ice maker is prohibited from responding to the frozen ice making request reaches a first preset time length is detected, the target state of the freezing chamber in the ice maker can be determined. It should be understood that the first preset time period may be calibrated according to actual conditions, for example, the first preset time period may be, but is not limited to, 10 minutes.

Alternatively, the determination may also be made based on the temperature of the solution in the freezer compartment when identifying whether the freezer compartment in the ice maker has reached the target state. When the temperature of the solution in the freezing chamber is detected to be less than or equal to the first preset temperature, the target state of the freezing chamber in the ice machine can be determined. It should be understood that the first preset temperature may be calibrated according to actual conditions, for example, the first preset temperature may be, but is not limited to, 5 ℃.

In summary, the control method of the ice maker provided in this embodiment can reserve a time for cooling the solution in the ice maker after the water is completely fed into the ice maker, so that the difference between the temperature of the solution and the temperature in the freezing chamber is within a preset range when the ice maker executes the freezing and ice making process, the solution can be uniformly condensed into ice, the problem that the temperature of the solution is inconsistent with the temperature inside the freezing chamber when the ice maker makes ice by freezing due to a large difference between the temperature of the solution and the temperature in the freezing chamber, and further the ice cubes made by the ice maker crack is solved, and the quality of the ice cubes made by the ice maker is improved.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2, controlling the ice maker to perform a remaining ice making process includes the steps of:

and S201, controlling the ice maker to respond to the freezing and ice making requests.

Specifically, after the freezing compartment in the ice maker reaches the target state, the ice maker is controlled to respond to the freezing and ice making request so as to perform the freezing and ice making process.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 3, controlling the ice maker to respond to the frozen ice making request includes the steps of:

s301, acquiring the temperature of the freezing chamber.

Generally, the compartment temperature in the freezer compartment can be obtained using a temperature sensor. Wherein the temperature sensor may be, but is not limited to being, disposed in the freezer compartment.

And S302, acquiring a second preset temperature at which the freezing chamber starts to work.

Generally, the ice maker is shipped with a second preset temperature at which the freezer compartment starts to operate, and therefore, the operating parameters of the ice maker can be queried to obtain the second preset temperature.

Optionally, when the second preset temperature is set by the user, the second preset temperature may be obtained according to a temperature adjustment instruction issued by the user. For example, if the default second preset temperature of the ice maker is-1 ℃, at this time, the temperature adjustment instruction issued by the user is adjusted to be adjusted downward by 2 ℃, and the final second preset temperature is-3 ℃.

And S303, controlling a compressor and a freezing fan in the ice maker to be turned on or off according to the compartment temperature and the second preset temperature.

Specifically, the compartment temperature and the second preset temperature are determined, and then a compressor and a freezing fan in the ice machine can be controlled to be turned on or turned off according to the compartment temperature and the second preset temperature, so that freezing and ice making can be performed.

Optionally, when it is detected and determined that the compartment temperature is greater than or equal to the second preset temperature, it indicates that the temperature in the current freezing compartment is too high and does not meet the temperature for freezing and making ice, and therefore, in order to make freezing and making ice, both the compressor and the freezing fan are controlled to be turned on.

When the compartment temperature is detected and determined to be lower than the second preset temperature, the temperature in the current freezing compartment is indicated to meet the temperature of freezing and ice making, and therefore the compressor and the freezing fan can be controlled to be turned off.

S202, detecting and determining that the time length of ice making responding to the freezing ice making request reaches a second preset time length, and controlling the ice making machine to respond to the ice removing request until the ice removing process is completed.

Specifically, when the ice maker starts to respond to the frozen ice making request, a timer is used for starting to record the time length of ice making responding to the frozen ice making request. And when the time length of the ice making responding to the freezing ice making request reaches a second preset time length, determining that the freezing ice making process is finished, and at the moment, controlling the ice making machine to respond to the ice removing request and finishing the ice removing process.

For convenience of understanding, the following explains a control method of the ice maker provided in the present embodiment. As shown in fig. 4, the control method of the ice maker includes:

s401, controlling the ice maker to execute a water inlet process.

S402, detecting and determining that water inflow of the ice maker is finished.

And S403, controlling the compressor and the refrigerating fan to be in a stop state.

S404, judging whether the freezing chamber reaches the target state. If yes, go to step S405; otherwise, the process returns to S403.

S405, executing a freezing and ice making process, and acquiring the temperature of the freezing chamber.

And S406, judging whether the compartment temperature is greater than or equal to a second preset temperature for starting the freezing compartment to work. If yes, go to step S407; otherwise, step S408 is executed.

And S407, controlling the compressor and the refrigerating fan to be started.

And S408, judging whether the temperature of the compartment is less than a second preset temperature for starting the refrigeration compartment to work. If yes, go to step S409; otherwise, step S407 is executed.

And S409, controlling the compressor and the freezing fan to be closed.

And S410, judging whether the time length for executing the freezing and ice making process reaches a second preset time length. If yes, go to step S411; otherwise, the step S405 is executed again.

And S411, completing the freezing ice making and executing an ice removing process.

And S412, completing ice removal, ending ice making, or returning to the step S401.

In order to realize the method of the embodiment, the invention further provides a control device of the ice making machine.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a control device of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 5, the control device 100 of the ice maker includes:

the identification module 11 is used for identifying that the water inlet flow of the ice maker is finished;

a first control module 12 for controlling the ice maker to prohibit a response to the frozen ice making request;

and the second control module 13 is used for identifying that the freezing chamber in the ice machine reaches a target state and controlling the ice machine to execute the residual ice making process.

Further, the first control module 12 is further configured to:

and controlling a compressor in the ice maker to be in a stop state, and controlling a freezing fan in the ice maker to be in a stop state.

Further, the second control module 13 is further configured to:

the time length for which the ice maker is prohibited from responding to the frozen ice making request reaches a first preset time length is detected and determined.

Further, the second control module 13 is further configured to:

detecting and determining that the temperature of the solution in the freezing chamber is less than or equal to a first preset temperature.

Further, the second control module 13 is further configured to:

controlling the ice maker to respond to the frozen ice making request;

and detecting and determining that the time length of ice making responding to the freezing ice making request reaches a second preset time length, and controlling the ice making machine to respond to the ice removing request until the ice removing process is completed.

Further, the second control module 13 is further configured to:

acquiring a compartment temperature in the freezing compartment;

acquiring a second preset temperature at which the freezing chamber starts to work;

and controlling a compressor and a freezing fan in the ice machine to be turned on or off according to the compartment temperature and the second preset temperature.

Further, the second control module 13 is further configured to:

detecting and determining that the room temperature is greater than or equal to a second preset temperature, and controlling both the compressor and the refrigerating fan to be started;

and detecting and determining that the room temperature is less than a second preset temperature, and controlling the compressor and the refrigerating fan to be closed.

It should be understood that the above-mentioned apparatus is used for executing the method in the above-mentioned embodiments, and the implementation principle and technical effect of the apparatus are similar to those described in the above-mentioned method, and the working process of the apparatus may refer to the corresponding process in the above-mentioned method, and is not described herein again.

The control device of the ice maker provided by the embodiment of the invention can reserve the time for cooling the solution in the ice maker after the water feeding of the ice maker is finished, so that the difference value between the temperature of the solution and the temperature in the freezing chamber is in the preset range when the ice maker executes the freezing and ice making process, the solution can be uniformly condensed into ice, the problem that the temperature of the solution is inconsistent with the temperature in the freezing chamber when the ice maker performs freezing and ice making and the ice cubes so as to crack the ice cubes made by the ice maker is avoided, and the quality of the ice cubes made by the ice maker is improved.

In order to realize the embodiment, the invention further provides an ice maker. As shown in fig. 6, the ice maker includes the control device 100 of the ice maker in the above-described embodiment.

In order to realize the embodiment, the invention further provides electronic equipment. As shown in fig. 7, the electronic device 200 includes a memory 21, a processor 22; wherein the processor 22 runs a program corresponding to the executable program code by reading the executable program code stored in the memory 21 for implementing the steps of the method described above.

In order to implement the above embodiments, the present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored, which when executed by a processor implements the steps of the above-described method.

In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "central," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," "counterclockwise," "axial," "radial," "circumferential," and the like are used in the orientations and positional relationships indicated in the drawings for convenience in describing the invention and to simplify the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the referenced devices or elements must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and are therefore not to be considered limiting of the invention.

Furthermore, the terms "first", "second" and "first" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of the present invention, "a plurality" means two or more unless specifically defined otherwise.

In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly stated or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," "secured," and the like are to be construed broadly and can, for example, be fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally formed; can be mechanically or electrically connected; either directly or indirectly through intervening media, either internally or in any other relationship. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by those skilled in the art according to specific situations.

In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly stated or limited, the first feature "on" or "under" the second feature may be directly contacting the first and second features or indirectly contacting the first and second features through an intermediate. Also, a first feature "on," "over," and "above" a second feature may be directly or diagonally above the second feature, or may simply indicate that the first feature is at a higher level than the second feature. A first feature being "under," "below," and "beneath" a second feature may be directly under or obliquely under the first feature, or may simply mean that the first feature is at a lesser elevation than the second feature.

In the description herein, references to the description of the term "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "an example," "a specific example," or "some examples," etc., mean that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, the schematic representations of the terms used above are not necessarily intended to refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. Furthermore, various embodiments or examples and features of different embodiments or examples described in this specification can be combined and combined by one skilled in the art without contradiction.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it is understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the present invention, and that variations, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to the above embodiments by those of ordinary skill in the art within the scope of the present invention.