COMBINATION FIRE PIT, GRILL, PIZZA OVEN AND COOKING WOK

Abstract

The present application is directed to a Combination Fire Pit, Grill, Pizza Oven and Cooking Wok. More particularly, a combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok assembly is provided in a single unit. When the combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok unit is in storage or being transported, the wok top is inverted and secured to the unit. When in use as a fire pit, the wok lid is taken off. When in use as a cooking wok, the cooking wok lid is taken off the unit, inverted to be cook-side up, then placed back on the unit when the cooking fire is started. When in use as a pizza oven, the cooking wok is left on the fire barrel in the upside down position covering a pizza stone. Alternatively, just the grill grate can be used to cook food items by grilling.

Claims

1. A combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok, comprising: (a) a base support frame having a lower base support ring, an upper base support ring and base support struts located between said lower ring and said upper ring; (b) a fire pit housing barrel having an upper portion and including a vented floor plate, wherein said fire pit housing barrel is supported by said base support frame; (c) a burner ring located within said fire pit housing barrel; and (d) a cooking wok/lid member removably attached to said fire pit housing barrel upper portion; wherein when said cooking wok/lid member is removed the fire pit housing barrel is used as a fire pit, and when said cooking wok/lid member is placed in the upright position the fire pit housing barrel is used as a cooking wok for cooking and frying food, and when said cooking wok/lid member is placed in the inverted position the fire pit housing barrel is used as an oven, a pizza oven and a fire pit housing barrel lid for storing and transporting.

2. The combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok according to claim 1, wherein said burner ring includes a burner ring air/gas intake pipe and a plurality of orifices.

3. The combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok according to claim 2, wherein said burner ring air/gas intake pipe is in communication with an ignition/gas control unit having an ignition/gas control knob, and further wherein said ignition/gas control unit includes a gas source hose connection for the purpose of supplying flammable gas to said burner ring.

4. The combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok according to claim 1, wherein said cooking wok/lid member includes heat dissipating handles.

5. The combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok according to claim 1, wherein said cooking wok/lid member includes locking hooks for the purpose of locking said cooking wok/lid to said upper portion of said fire pit housing barrel.

6. The combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok according to claim 3, wherein said burner ring includes an ignition box having a plurality of orifices therein, and further wherein said ignition box is in communication with said ignition/gas control unit and configured to spark in order to ignite a flame when gas is supplied to said burner ring.

7. The combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok according to claim 1, further including a removable grill grate wherein said grill grate is supported by said fire pit housing barrel upper portion.

8. The combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok according to claim 7, wherein said grill grate will accommodate a pizza stone, and when said cooking wok/lid member is placed in the inverted position the fire pit housing barrel is capable of being used as a pizza oven.

9. The combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok according to claim 1, wherein said base support frame further includes a centrally located saucer disk supported by a saucer disk pedestal, wherein said saucer disk is configured to catch ash and grease dropping through said fire pit housing barrel vented floor plate.

10. The combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok according to claim 1, wherein said base support frame having a lower base support ring and an upper base support ring includes three or more base support struts located between said lower ring and said upper ring, and further wherein said fire pit housing barrel is configured to be securely fastened to said base support frame upper base support ring.

11. A method for making a combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok, comprising the steps of: (a) a base support frame having a lower base support ring, an upper base support ring and base support struts located between said lower ring and said upper ring; (b) a fire pit housing barrel having an upper portion and including a vented floor plate, wherein said fire pit housing barrel is supported by said base support frame; (c) a burner ring located within said fire pit housing barrel; and (d) a cooking wok/lid member removably attached to said fire pit housing barrel upper portion; wherein when said cooking wok/lid member is removed the fire pit housing barrel is used as a fire pit, and when said cooking wok/lid member is placed in the upright position the fire pit housing barrel is used as a cooking wok for cooking and frying food, and when said cooking wok/lid member is placed in the inverted position the fire pit housing barrel is used as an oven, a pizza oven and a fire pit housing barrel lid for storing and transporting.

12. The method of making a combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok according to claim 11, wherein said burner ring includes a burner ring air/gas intake pipe and a plurality of orifices.

13. The method of making a combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok according to claim 12, wherein said burner ring air/gas intake pipe is in communication with an ignition/gas control unit having an ignition/gas control knob, and further wherein said ignition/gas control unit includes a gas source hose connection for the purpose of supplying flammable gas to said burner ring.

14. The method of making a combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok according to claim 11, wherein said cooking wok/lid member includes heat dissipating handles.

15. The method of making a combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok according to claim 11, wherein said cooking wok/lid member includes locking hooks for the purpose of locking said cooking wok/lid to said upper portion of said fire pit housing barrel.

16. The method of making a combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok according to claim 13, wherein said burner ring includes an ignition box having a plurality of orifices therein, and further wherein said ignition box is in communication with said ignition/gas control unit and configured to spark in order to ignite a flame when gas is supplied to said burner ring.

17. The method of making a combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok according to claim 11, further including a removable grill grate wherein said grill grate is supported by said fire pit housing barrel upper portion.

18. The method of making a combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok according to claim 17, wherein said grill grate will accommodate a pizza stone, and when said cooking wok/lid member is placed in the inverted position the fire pit housing barrel is capable of being used as a pizza oven.

19. The method of making a combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok according to claim 11, wherein said base support frame further includes a centrally located saucer disk supported by a saucer disk pedestal, wherein said saucer disk is configured to catch ash and grease dropping through said fire pit housing barrel vented floor plate.

20. The method of making a combination fire pit, grill, pizza oven and cooking wok according to claim 11, wherein said base support frame having a lower base support ring and an upper base support ring includes three or more base support struts located between said lower ring and said upper ring, and further wherein said fire pit housing barrel is configured to be securely fastened to said base support frame upper base support ring.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0056] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the Combination Fire Pit, Grill, Pizza Oven and Cooking Wok and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application.

[0057] FIG. 1 depicts a front view of the Combination Fire Pit, Grill, Pizza Oven and Cooking Wok single compact portable unit assembly illustrating the cooking wok in the inverted position acting as a lid.

[0058] FIG. 2 depicts an exploded top, side and front view of the Combination Fire Pit, Grill, Pizza Oven and Cooking Wok single compact portable unit assembly illustrating the cooking wok in the inverted position acting as a lid and showing many of the internal parts therein.

[0059] FIG. 3 depicts a front view of the control knob removed from the ignition/gas control unit.

[0060] FIG. 4 depicts a front, side and perspective view of the ignition/gas control unit adjacent to a partial view of the burner ring intake pipe.

[0061] FIG. 5 depicts a front view of the fire pit housing barrel, illustrating the position and design of the decorative vents therein.

[0062] FIG. 6 depicts a rear view of the fire pit housing barrel, illustrating the position and design of the decorative vents therein.

[0063] FIG. 7 depicts a perspective view of the fire pit barrel support base structure.

[0064] FIG. 8 depicts a side elevational view of the fire pit barrel support base structure.

[0065] FIG. 9 depicts a top plan view of the fire pit barrel support base structure.

[0066] FIG. 10 depicts a top plan view of the fire pit barrel illustrating the vented barrel base plate saucer having vents therein.

[0067] FIG. 11 depicts a bottom view of the burner ring having a burner ring air/gas intake pipe.

[0068] FIG. 12 depicts a side elevational view of the burner ring having a burner ring air/gas intake pipe.

[0069] FIG. 13 depicts a top plan view of the grill grate.

[0070] FIG. 14 depicts a side elevational view of the support base saucer disk.

[0071] FIG. 15 depicts a top plan view of the support base saucer disk.

[0072] FIG. 16 depicts a top, side and perspective view of the cooking wok and lid.

[0073] FIG. 17 depicts a side elevational view of the cooking wok and lid.

[0074] FIG. 18 depicts a top plan view of the cooking wok and lid.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0075] As required, the detailed embodiments of the present Combination Fire Pit, Grill, Pizza Oven and Cooking Wok 10 are disclosed herein, however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the design that may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific functional and structural details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as basic for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present design in virtually any appropriately detailed structure as well as combination.

[0076] Referring now to FIG. 1 there is shown a front view of the Combination Fire Pit, Grill, Pizza Oven and Cooking Wok single compact portable unit 10 fully assembled and illustrating the cooking wok 30 in the inverted position acting as a lid thereon. The fully assembled unit 10 includes a fire pit housing barrel 12, supported by a barrel support base comprising a barrel support base ring 14, barrel support base struts 16, 17 and 19 (19 is not seen in this view, see FIG. 2), and barrel support base upper ring, on which the fire pit housing barrel 12 rests. The cooking wok/lid 30 includes wok handles 32 and 33 (33 is not seen in this view, see FIG. 2) and wok locking hooks 38 and 41 (41 not seen in this view, see FIGS. 16-18). The assembled unit 10 also includes an ignition/gas control unit 22 and an ignition/gas control knob 24. Also seen in this FIG. 1 view of the assembled unit 10 are the decorative air intake vents 26 and 28 located in the fire pit housing barrel 12. A base saucer disk and base saucer disk 20 support pedestal 21 are centrally located within the support base between the support base lower ring 14 and the support base upper ring 34. When in use as a fire pit, the assembled unit would have the cooking wok/lid 30 removed and no grill grate on the fire pit housing barrel 12. In order to use the assembled unit 10 as a grill, the cooking wok/lid 30 would be removed and ta grill grate (see FIG. 13) would be placed on top of the fire pit housing barrel 12. In order to be used as an oven, or a pizza oven, the cooking wok/lid would be inverted as shown here in FIG. 1 and a pizza stone (not shown) placed on the grill grate located on the top of the fire pit housing barrel 12.

[0077] FIG. 2 depicts an exploded top, side and front view of the Combination Fire Pit, Grill, Pizza Oven and Cooking Wok single compact portable unit 10 assembly parts illustrating the cooking wok 30 in the inverted position acting as a lid, and showing many of the internal parts therein. The fully assembled unit 10 includes a fire pit housing barrel 12, supported by a barrel support base comprising a barrel support base ring 14, barrel support base struts 16, 17 and 19, and barrel support base upper ring, on which the fire pit housing barrel 12 rests. The cooking wok/lid 30 includes wok handles 32 and 33 and wok locking hooks 38 and 41 (41 not seen in this view, see FIGS. 16-18). The assembled unit 10 also includes an ignition/gas control unit 22 and an ignition/gas control knob 24. Also seen in this FIG. 1 view of the assembled unit 10 are the decorative air intake vents 26 and 28 located in the fire pit housing barrel 12. A base saucer disk and base saucer disk 20 support pedestal 21 are centrally located within the support base between the support base lower ring 14 and the support base upper ring 34. Here is seen more detail of the ignition/gas control unit 22 which includes an ignition/gas control knob connection shaft 25 for mounting the ignition/gas control knob 24. The burner ring 40 is shown as well as the burner ring air/gas intake pipe 48. Also seen in this FIG. 1 view of the assembled unit 10 is the fire pit housing barrel 12 pedestal 18 which rests on base saucer disk 20 and is supported by the base saucer disk support pedestal 21 when assembled.

[0078] FIG. 3 depicts a front view of the control knob removed from the ignition/gas control unit. This ignition/gas control knob 24 is removably attached to the ignition/gas control unit 22 (see FIG. 4). The ignition/gas control knob 24 has an ergonomically shaped protrusion on the front surface for ease of use and to accommodate readily turning the ignition/gas control knob 24.

[0079] FIG. 4 depicts an enlarged front, side and perspective view of the ignition/gas control unit 22 adjacent to a partial view of the burner ring intake pipe 48. This ignition/gas control unit 22 is a conventional ignition and gas control unit commonly found on many fire pits and grills. The ignition/gas control unit 22 has an ignition/gas control gas source hose connection 27 which is a conventional ignition/gas control gas source hose connection commonly used to connect fire pits and grills to a propane (LP) source, such as an LP tank, and it accepts a conventional LP hose. This ignition/gas control unit 22 also includes a conventional ignition system which when turned sparks and allows for ignition of the gas when gas is flowing into the ignition/gas control unit 22 through the source hose and into the ignition/gas control gas source hose connection 27 then into the burner 40 (not shown, see FIG. 12) through the burner ring air/gas intake pipe 48.

[0080] FIG. 5 depicts a front view of the fire pit housing barrel 12, illustrating the position and design of the decorative air intake vents 26 and 28 therein. This view in FIG. 5 also shows the centrally located barrel center post pedestal 18.

[0081] FIG. 6 depicts a rear view of the fire pit housing barrel 12, illustrating the position and design of the decorative air intake vents 26 and 28 therein. This view in FIG. 5 also shows the centrally located barrel center post pedestal 18. The design of the decorative air intake vents shown integrated into the fire pit housing barrel 12 here have a snow-capped mountain theme, however, it is anticipated that the decorative air intake vents 26 and 28 may vary in design and be integrated in other themes and motifs.

[0082] FIG. 7 depicts a perspective view of the fire pit barrel 12 support base structure including barrel support base lower ring 14, barrel support base upper ring 34 as supported by barrel support base struts 16, 17 and 19. Integrated into the upper portion of each of the barrel support base struts 16, 17 and 19 is a base ring connection tab with orifice 36, 37 and 39, respectively. These base ring connection tabs with orifices 36, 37 and 39 are used to secure the fire pit housing barrel 12 to the base support structure using nuts and bolts or some other suitable fastening means (not shown).

[0083] FIG. 8 depicts a side elevational view of the fire pit barrel 12 support base structure including barrel support base lower ring 14, barrel support base upper ring 34 as supported by barrel support base struts 16, 17 and 19.

[0084] FIG. 9 depicts a top plan view of the fire pit barrel 12 support base structure including barrel support base lower ring 14, barrel support base upper ring 34 as supported by barrel support base struts 16, 17 and 19. Integrated into the upper portion of each of the barrel support base struts 16, 17 and 19 is a base ring connection tab with orifice 36, 37 and 39, respectively. These base ring connection tabs with orifices 36, 37 and 39 are used to secure the fire pit housing barrel 12 to the base support structure using nuts and bolts or some other suitable fastening means (not shown).

[0085] FIG. 10 depicts a top plan view of the fire pit barrel 12 illustrating the vented barrel base plate 42 having numerous and varying shaped vents 44 and 46 therein. The plurality of vents 44 and 46 have differing functions. Vents 44 and the like allow for the intake of air into the fire pit barrel when necessary to keep the LP sourced fire fueled with air for combustion. The larger vent 46 is used to allow the burner ring air/gas intake pipe 48 to extend from the ignition/gas control unit 22 upward into the fire pit barrel housing 12 above the vented barrel base plate 42. In this way, the burner 40 is mounted within the fire pit barrel housing 12, which is in turn mounted on the support base structure described in FIG. 9 above. When the burner 40 within the fire pit housing barrel 12 is ignited and supplied with gas, the burner 40 functions to generate a ring of fire flames, see FIGS. 11 and 12 below.

[0086] FIG. 11 depicts a bottom view of the burner ring 40 having a burner ring air/gas intake pipe 48. This view of FIG. 11 also illustrates the ignition box 43 having a plurality of ignition box orifices 47. This ignition box 43 is a conventional ignition box commonly found on grills and fire pits. When the ignition/gas control knob 24 on the ignition/gas control unit 22 is rotated it sends an electronic signal through wires (not shown) to a sparker device within the ignition box 43 which generates a spark to ignite the gas flowing into the burner ring 40 and out of the burner ring plurality of orifices 45 (see FIG. 12 below). Also shown here in FIG. 11 are the three burner ring support tabs 50, 51 and 53 which allow for the securing of the burner ring 40 to the vented barrel floor plate 42 within the fire pit barrel housing 12.

[0087] FIG. 12 depicts a side elevational view of the burner ring 40 having a burner ring air/gas intake pipe 48. This view of FIG. 12 also illustrates the ignition box 43 having a plurality of ignition box orifices 47. This ignition box 43 is a conventional ignition box commonly found on grills and fire pits. When the ignition/gas control knob 24 on the ignition/gas control unit 22 is rotated it sends an electronic signal through wires (not shown) to a sparker device within the ignition box 43 which generates a spark to ignite the gas flowing into the burner ring 40 and out of the burner ring plurality of orifices 45. Also shown here in FIG. 12 are the three burner ring support tabs 50, 51 and 53 which allow for the securing of the burner ring 40 to the vented barrel floor plate 42 within the fire pit barrel housing 12. In this way, the burner ring 40 is secured within the fire pit barrel housing 12 using conventional fastening means, such as screws or nuts and bolts.

[0088] FIG. 13 depicts a top plan view of the grill grate 52. The grill grate 52 is a conventional grill grate commonly used on grills. The grill grate fits on the top of the fire pit barrel housing 12. The addition of a grill grate 52 allows the user to grill foods on the assembled unit 10.

[0089] FIG. 14 depicts a side elevational view of the support base saucer disk 20. This support base saucer disk 20 sits on a saucer disk pedestal 21 (see FIG. 2) and is centrally located directly below the fire pit barrel housing 12.

[0090] FIG. 15 depicts a top plan view of the support base saucer disk 20 illustrating the holes therein, namely centrally located hole 54 and peripherally located hole 55. Centrally located hole 54 allows the support base saucer disk 20 to be fastened to the saucer disk pedestal 21 using conventional fastening means, such as screws or nuts and bolts. The support base saucer disk 20 is centrally located directly below the fire pit barrel housing 12 for the purpose of catching ash or grease coming from the vented barrel floor plate 42 if any drops through the vented barrel base plate saucer plurality of vents 44. The support base saucer disk 20 is easily removed for cleaning.

[0091] FIG. 16 depicts a top, side and perspective view of the cooking wok and lid 30. This view illustrates the handles 32 and 33 as well as the locking hooks 38 and 41 located on the rim of the cooking wok and lid 30. The cooking wok handles 32 and 33 include heat dissipating handle extensions in the form of variable diameter spring-like structures, to ensure that the user is not burned when handling the cooking wok/lid 30 when it is hot during use as a wok, frying pan, oven or pizza oven, when the assembly unit 10 used in conjunction with a pizza stone.

[0092] FIG. 17 depicts a side elevational view of the cooking wok and lid 30, again illustrating the handles 32 and 33 as well as the locking hooks 38 and 41 located on the rim of the cooking wok and lid 30. The cooking wok/lid 30 is shown here as a flat bottom frying pan type of wok, but it is also anticipated that the cooking wok/lid 30 could be configured as a traditional Asian wok with a round or rounded bottom surface.

[0093] FIG. 18 depicts a top plan view of the cooking wok and lid 30, again illustrating the handles 32 and 33 as well as the locking hooks 38 and 41 located on the rim of the cooking wok and lid 30. The locking hooks 38 and 41 could correspond to locking levers found on the fire pit barrel housing 12 (not shown). Alternatively, a rope or bungee cord could be used to secure the cooking wok/lid 30 to the fire pit barrel housing 12 for the purpose of storing or transporting the assembled unit 10.

[0094] In summary, the Combination Fire Pit, Grill, Pizza Oven and Cooking Wok primary features will include as prominent design and operational features: a fire pit housing barrel having decorative air intake vents, a barrel support base lower ring, a barrel support base strut, three or more barrel support base struts, a barrel center post pedestal, a base saucer disk having a saucer disk central orifice and a saucer disk peripheral orifice, a base saucer disk support pedestal, an ignition/gas control unit having an ignition/gas control knob, an ignition/gas control knob connection shaft and an ignition/gas control gas source hose connection, a cooking wok/lid assembly having wok handles and lid locking hooks, a barrel support base structure having a barrel support base upper ring, three or more base ring connection tabs with orifices, a burner ring having a plurality of orifices, a vented barrel floor plate saucer, an ignition box having an ignition box plurality of orifices, a vented barrel base plate saucer including a plurality of vents, a vented barrel base plate saucer large vent, a burner ring air/gas intake pipe, three or more burner ring support tabs having orifices therein, and a grill grate.

[0095] The Combination Fire Pit, Grill, Pizza Oven and Cooking Wok 10 shown in the drawings and described in detail herein disclose arrangements of elements of particular construction and configuration for illustrating preferred embodiments of structure and method of operation of the present application. It is to be understood, however, that elements of different construction and configuration and other arrangements thereof, other than those illustrated and described may be employed for providing the Combination Fire Pit, Grill, Pizza Oven and Cooking Wok 10 in accordance with the spirit of this disclosure, and such changes, alternations and modifications as would occur to those skilled in the art are considered to be within the scope of this design as broadly defined in the appended claims.

[0096] While certain embodiments of the inventions have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the systems and methods described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. For example, one portion of one of the embodiments described herein can be substituted for another portion in another embodiment described herein. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Accordingly, the scope of the present inventions is defined only by reference to the appended claims.

[0097] Features, materials, characteristics, or groups described in conjunction with a particular aspect, embodiment, or example are to be understood to be applicable to any other aspect, embodiment or example described in this section or elsewhere in this specification unless incompatible therewith. All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive. The protection is not restricted to the details of any foregoing embodiments. The protection extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

[0098] Furthermore, certain features that are described in this disclosure in the context of separate implementations can also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single implementation can also be implemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations, one or more features from a claimed combination can, in some cases, be excised from the combination, and the combination may be claimed as a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

[0099] Moreover, while operations may be depicted in the drawings or described in the specification in a particular order, such operations need not be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. Other operations that are not depicted or described can be incorporated in the example methods and processes. For example, one or more additional operations can be performed before, after, simultaneously, or between any of the described operations. Further, the operations may be rearranged or reordered in other implementations. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in some embodiments, the actual steps taken in the processes illustrated and/or disclosed may differ from those shown in the figures. Depending on the embodiment, certain of the steps described above may be removed, others may be added. Furthermore, the features and attributes of the specific embodiments disclosed above may be combined in different ways to form additional embodiments, all of which fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Also, the separation of various system components in the implementations described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all implementations, and it should be understood that the described components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single product or packaged into multiple products.

[0100] For purposes of this disclosure, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features are described herein. Not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves one advantage or a group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.

[0101] Conditional language, such as can, could, might, or may, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements, and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements, and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements, and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

[0102] Conjunctive language such as the phrase at least one of X, Y, and Z, unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with the context as used in general to convey that an item, term, etc. may be either X, Y, or Z. Thus, such conjunctive language is not generally intended to imply that certain embodiments require the presence of at least one of X, at least one of Y, and at least one of Z.

[0103] Language of degree used herein, such as the terms approximately, about, generally, and substantially as used herein represent a value, amount, or characteristic close to the stated value, amount, or characteristic that still performs a desired function or achieves a desired result. For example, the terms approximately, about, generally, and substantially may refer to an amount that is within less than 10% of, within less than 5% of, within less than 1% of, within less than 0.1% of, and within less than 0.01% of the stated amount. As another example, in certain embodiments, the terms generally parallel and substantially parallel refer to a value, amount, or characteristic that departs from exactly parallel by less than or equal to 15 degrees, 10 degrees, 5 degrees, 3 degrees, 1 degree, or 0.1 degree.

[0104] The scope of the present disclosure is not intended to be limited by the specific disclosures of preferred embodiments in this section or elsewhere in this specification, and may be defined by claims as presented in this section or elsewhere in this specification or as presented in the future. The language of the claims is to be interpreted broadly based on the language employed in the claims and not limited to the examples described in the present specification or during the prosecution of the application, which examples are to be construed as non-exclusive.

[0105] Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, foreign patent offices worldwide and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.