阅读说明：本技术 一种飞机油门台操纵力调节器专用摩擦副 (Special friction pair for aircraft accelerator station control force regulator ) 是由 赵斐 于 2020-07-30 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种飞机油门台操纵力调节器专用摩擦副,涉及飞机配件技术领域。该飞机油门台操纵力调节器专用摩擦副包括基础操纵力摩擦副和阻尼力调节组件,其中基础操纵力摩擦副包括摩擦盘、预紧齿轮、底座、基础力调节锁紧螺母和基础力预紧碟簧,在基础力预紧碟簧与基础力调节锁紧螺母之间还设有止推轴承,通过基础力调节锁紧螺母挤压基础力预紧碟簧调节摩擦副的正压力,改变预紧齿轮输出力矩。调节完成后,锁定基础力调节锁紧螺母,为油门杆提供稳定的基础操纵力,而且在基础力调节锁紧螺母与基础力预紧碟簧之间增加止推滚针轴承,以减小摩擦盘对基础力预紧碟簧的扰动,保正预紧齿轮力矩稳定,稳定性好、可靠性强。(The invention discloses a friction pair special for an aircraft accelerator station control force regulator, and relates to the technical field of aircraft accessories. The friction pair special for the airplane accelerator control force regulator comprises a basic control force friction pair and a damping force regulating assembly, wherein the basic control force friction pair comprises a friction disc, a pre-tightening gear, a base, a basic force regulating locking nut and a basic force pre-tightening disc spring, a thrust bearing is further arranged between the basic force pre-tightening disc spring and the basic force regulating locking nut, the basic force regulating locking nut extrudes the basic force pre-tightening disc spring to regulate the positive pressure of the friction pair, and the output torque of the pre-tightening gear is changed. After the adjustment is completed, the foundation force adjusting locking nut is locked to provide stable foundation control force for the throttle lever, and a thrust needle roller bearing is additionally arranged between the foundation force adjusting locking nut and the foundation force pre-tightening disc spring to reduce the disturbance of the friction disc to the foundation force pre-tightening disc spring, so that the pre-tightening gear is ensured to have stable moment, good stability and strong reliability.)

1. The utility model provides a special friction of aircraft accelerator station operating force regulator is vice which characterized in that: the friction pair special for the aircraft accelerator console operating force regulator comprises a basic operating force friction pair (1) and a damping force adjusting assembly (2), wherein the basic operating force friction pair (1) comprises a friction disc (5), a pre-tightening gear (6), a base (7), a basic force adjusting locking nut (9) and a basic force pre-tightening disc spring (12), one side of the friction disc (5) is connected with a pre-tightening shaft (8), the pre-tightening gear (6), the base (7), the basic force pre-tightening disc spring (12) and the basic force adjusting locking nut (9) are sequentially arranged on the pre-tightening shaft (8) along the direction far away from the friction disc (5), a thrust bearing is further arranged between the basic force pre-tightening spring disc (12) and the basic force adjusting locking nut (9), the basic force adjusting locking nut (9) is in threaded connection with the pre-tightening shaft (8), the pre-tightening gear (6) is rotatably connected with the pre-tightening shaft (8), the basic force adjusting locking nut (9) is connected with a self-locking mechanism, and the damping force adjusting assembly (2) is arranged on the other side of the friction disc (5).

2. The aircraft throttle station maneuvering regulator dedicated friction pair of claim 1, characterized in that: and the friction surfaces of the friction disc (5) and the base (7) which are in contact with the pre-tightening gear (6) are subjected to DLC film coating treatment after nitriding treatment.

3. The aircraft throttle station maneuvering regulator dedicated friction pair according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: and ceramic coatings are sprayed on friction surfaces on two sides of the pre-tightening gear (6).

4. The aircraft throttle station maneuvering regulator dedicated friction pair of claim 1, characterized in that: the self-locking mechanism comprises an axial self-locking screw (10), a deformation groove (13) is formed in the foundation force adjusting locking nut (9), a unthreaded hole is formed in the foundation force adjusting locking nut (9) on one side of the deformation groove (13), a threaded hole is formed in the foundation force adjusting locking nut (9) on the other side of the deformation groove (13), and the axial self-locking screw (10) penetrates through the unthreaded hole and then is connected with the threaded hole.

5. The aircraft throttle station maneuvering regulator dedicated friction pair of claim 4, characterized in that: the self-locking mechanism further comprises a radial self-locking screw (14), and the radial self-locking screw (14) penetrates through a radial threaded hole in the basic force adjusting locking nut (9) and then is tightly pressed on the pre-tightening shaft (8).

6. The aircraft throttle station maneuvering regulator dedicated friction pair of claim 1, characterized in that: the damping force adjusting assembly (2) comprises an X-shaped hinge assembly (16), a pressing adjusting mechanism and a damping force pre-tightening disc spring (20), the pressing adjusting mechanism is connected with one side of the X-shaped hinge assembly (16), the damping force pre-tightening disc spring (20) is connected to the other side of the X-shaped hinge assembly (16), and the X-shaped hinge assembly (16) compresses the damping force pre-tightening disc spring (20) to the other side of the friction disc (5).

7. The aircraft throttle station maneuvering regulator dedicated friction pair of claim 6, characterized in that: the X-shaped hinge assembly (16) comprises a first connecting rod (21), a second connecting rod (22), an adjusting nut (23), a fixing block (24), a sliding block (25) and a pressing plate (26), wherein the first connecting rod (21) is rotatably connected with the middle of the second connecting rod (22), one end of the first connecting rod (21) is rotatably connected with the pressing plate (26), the adjusting nut (23) is rotatably connected with the other end of the first connecting rod (21), one end of the second connecting rod (22) is rotatably connected with the fixing block (24), the sliding block (25) is rotatably connected with the other end of the second connecting rod (22), the sliding block (25) is slidably arranged on the pressing plate (26), a guide shaft (27) which is slidably connected with a friction disc (5) is arranged on one side of the pressing plate (26), a damping force pre-tightening disc spring (20) is arranged on the guide shaft (27), and a downward pressing adjusting mechanism is connected with the adjusting nut (.

8. The aircraft throttle station maneuvering regulator dedicated friction pair of claim 7, characterized in that: the pressing-down adjusting mechanism comprises a large gear shaft (19), one end of the large gear shaft (19) is rotatably connected with a fixing block (24), the large gear shaft (19) is meshed with an adjusting nut (23), and the other end of the large gear shaft (19) is connected with a damping force adjusting assembly (2) which drives the large gear shaft to rotate through a flexible shaft (3).

9. The aircraft throttle station maneuvering regulator dedicated friction pair of claim 8, characterized in that: damping force adjusting part (2) include adjustment handle (4) and connect (28), connect (28) lower extreme and pass through uide bushing (34) and flexible axle (3) fixed connection, adjustment handle (4) rotate to be set up in the uide bushing (34) outside, connect (28) and pass through friction ring and connect adjustment handle (4).

10. The aircraft throttle station maneuvering regulator dedicated friction pair according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: the damping force pre-tightening disc springs (20) are provided with two oppositely arranged ones.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of airplane accessories, in particular to a friction pair special for an airplane throttle control valve regulator.

Background

Currently, most aircraft operator stations employ mechanical linkage actuators (linkage loads). After the novel airplane is fully electrically operated, mechanical connection is cancelled, an electric signal is output, the load is lost, and the simulation load needs to be increased. Most of the devices adopt electromechanical, electromagnetic and hydraulic control (load simulation), and have the disadvantages of heavy weight, high energy consumption, large influence of environmental temperature and poor stability.

Disclosure of Invention

Therefore, the invention provides a friction pair special for an aircraft throttle platform control force regulator, which aims to solve the problem of poor stability of the friction pair special for the aircraft throttle platform control force regulator in the prior art.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the invention provides the following technical scheme:

the friction pair special for the airplane accelerator platform control force regulator comprises a basic control force friction pair and a damping force regulating assembly, wherein the basic control force friction pair comprises a friction disc, a pre-tightening gear, a base, a basic force regulating locking nut and a basic force pre-tightening disc spring, one side of the friction disc is connected with a pre-tightening shaft, the pre-tightening gear, the base, the basic force pre-tightening disc spring and the basic force regulating locking nut are sequentially arranged on the pre-tightening shaft along the direction away from the friction disc, a thrust bearing is further arranged between the basic force pre-tightening disc spring and the basic force regulating locking nut, the basic force regulating locking nut is in threaded connection with the pre-tightening shaft, the pre-tightening gear is in rotating connection with the pre-tightening shaft, the basic force regulating locking nut is connected with a self-locking mechanism, and the damping force regulating.

Furthermore, the friction surfaces of the friction disc and the base, which are in contact with the pre-tightening gear, are subjected to DLC (diamond-like carbon) coating treatment after nitriding treatment.

Furthermore, the friction surfaces on the two sides of the pre-tightening gear are sprayed with ceramic coatings.

Furthermore, the self-locking mechanism comprises an axial self-locking screw, a deformation groove is formed in the base force adjusting locking nut, an unthreaded hole is formed in the base force adjusting locking nut on one side of the deformation groove, a threaded hole is formed in the base force adjusting locking nut on the other side of the deformation groove, and the axial self-locking screw penetrates through the unthreaded hole and then is connected with the threaded hole.

Furthermore, the self-locking mechanism also comprises a radial self-locking screw which penetrates through a radial threaded hole in the foundation force adjusting locking nut and then is tightly propped against the pre-tightening shaft.

Furthermore, the damping force adjusting assembly comprises an X-shaped hinge assembly, a pressing adjusting mechanism and a damping force pre-tightening disc spring, the pressing adjusting mechanism is connected with one side of the X-shaped hinge assembly, the damping force pre-tightening disc spring is connected to the other side of the X-shaped hinge assembly, and the X-shaped hinge assembly tightly presses the damping force pre-tightening disc spring to the other side of the friction disc.

Further, the X-shaped hinge assembly comprises a first connecting rod, a second connecting rod, an adjusting nut, a fixing block, a sliding block and a pressing plate, the first connecting rod is rotatably connected with the middle of the second connecting rod, one end of the first connecting rod is rotatably connected with the pressing plate, the adjusting nut is rotatably connected to the other end of the first connecting rod, one end of the second connecting rod is rotatably connected with the fixing block, the sliding block is rotatably connected with the other end of the second connecting rod, the sliding block is slidably arranged on the pressing plate, a guide shaft which is slidably connected with a friction disc is arranged on one side of the pressing plate, a damping force pre-tightening disc spring is arranged on the guide shaft, and a downward pressing adjusting mechanism is.

Furthermore, the pressing adjusting mechanism comprises a large gear shaft, one end of the large gear shaft is rotatably connected with the fixed block, the large gear shaft is meshed with the adjusting nut, and the other end of the large gear shaft is connected with the damping force adjusting assembly which drives the large gear shaft to rotate through a flexible shaft.

Furthermore, damping force adjusting part include adjustment handle and joint, connect the lower extreme and pass through uide bushing and flexible axle fixed connection, adjustment handle rotates and sets up in the uide bushing outside, connect and pass through the friction ring and connect adjustment handle.

Furthermore, the adjusting handle on be fixed with a joint fixing base, the friction ring includes friction ring and friction ring down, goes up friction ring and friction ring setting down in the both sides that connect the fixing base, is equipped with the pressure disk that compresses tightly at last friction ring upside on the joint, connects threaded connection and has the joint lock nut who compresses tightly at friction ring downside down.

Furthermore, the damping force pre-tightening disc springs are provided with two oppositely arranged disc springs.

The invention has the following advantages:

according to the invention, no power supply is needed on the machine, the locking nut is adjusted through the basic force to extrude the basic force to pre-tighten the disc spring to adjust the positive pressure of the friction pair, and the output torque of the pre-tightening gear is changed. After the adjustment is completed, the foundation force adjusting locking nut is locked to provide stable foundation control force for the throttle lever, and a thrust needle roller bearing is additionally arranged between the foundation force adjusting locking nut and the foundation force pre-tightening disc spring to reduce the disturbance of the friction disc to the foundation force pre-tightening disc spring, so that the pre-tightening gear is ensured to have stable moment, good stability and strong reliability.

The friction surfaces of the friction disk and the base, which are contacted with the pre-tightening gear, are subjected to DLC (diamond-like carbon) coating treatment after nitriding treatment. The friction surfaces on the two sides of the pre-tightening gear are sprayed with the ceramic coating, so that the service life is long, and 8000 flight hours or 90 ten thousand times of use can be achieved.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below. It should be apparent that the drawings in the following description are merely exemplary, and that other embodiments can be derived from the drawings provided by those of ordinary skill in the art without inventive effort.

The structures, ratios, sizes, and the like shown in the present specification are only used for matching with the contents disclosed in the specification, so that those skilled in the art can understand and read the present invention, and do not limit the conditions for implementing the present invention, so that the present invention has no technical significance, and any structural modifications, changes in the ratio relationship, or adjustments of the sizes, without affecting the functions and purposes of the present invention, should still fall within the scope of the present invention.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a friction pair dedicated to an aircraft throttle control force regulator provided in embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of a basic operating force friction pair according to embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a basic operating force friction pair according to embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a damping force adjusting assembly according to embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic connection diagram of an X-shaped hinge assembly of a damping force adjusting assembly according to embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a damping force adjusting assembly according to embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken at A-A of FIG. 6;

fig. 8 is a front view of a friction pair dedicated to an aircraft throttle control force regulator provided in embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken at B-B of FIG. 8;

in the figure: 1-basic operating force friction pair 2-damping force adjusting component 3-flexible shaft 4-adjusting handle 5-friction disc 6-pre-tightening gear 7-base 8-pre-tightening shaft 9-basic force adjusting locking nut 10-axial self-locking screw 11-thrust needle bearing 12-basic force pre-tightening disc spring 13-deformation groove 14-radial self-locking screw 15-shell 16-X-shaped hinge component 17-pinion shaft 18-transmission gear 19-pinion shaft 20-damping force pre-tightening disc spring 21-first connecting rod 22-second connecting rod 23-adjusting nut 24-fixed block 25-sliding block 26-pressing plate 27-guide shaft 28-joint 29-pressing plate 30-upper friction ring 31-lower friction ring 32- The connector fixing seat 33, the connector locking nut 34 and the guide sleeve.

Detailed Description

The present invention is described in terms of particular embodiments, other advantages and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following disclosure, and it is to be understood that the described embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention and that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiments disclosed. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention. In the present specification, the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "middle", and the like are used for the sake of clarity only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and changes or modifications of the relative relationship thereof are also regarded as the scope of the present invention without substantial changes in the technical contents.

Referring to fig. 1, the friction pair special for the aircraft throttle platform control force regulator comprises a basic control force friction pair 1 and a damping force regulating assembly 2, wherein the basic control force friction pair 1 is arranged on one side of the damping force regulating assembly 2, a flexible shaft 3 is arranged on the upper side of the damping force regulating assembly 2, and an adjusting handle 4 is arranged at the upper end of the flexible shaft 3.

Referring to fig. 2 to 3, the foundation operating force friction pair 1 comprises a friction disc 5, a pre-tightening gear 6, a base 7, a foundation force adjusting locking nut 9 and a foundation force pre-tightening disc spring 12, one side of the friction disc 5 is connected with a pre-tightening shaft 8, the pre-tightening gear 6, the base 7, the foundation force pre-tightening disc spring 12 and the foundation force adjusting locking nut 9 are sequentially arranged on the pre-tightening shaft 8 along the direction away from the friction disc 5, a thrust needle bearing 11 is further arranged between the foundation force pre-tightening disc spring 12 and the foundation force adjusting locking nut 9, the foundation force adjusting locking nut 9 is in threaded connection with the pre-tightening shaft 8, the pre-tightening gear 6 is in rotational connection with the pre-tightening shaft 8, the foundation force adjusting locking nut 9 is connected with a self-locking mechanism, and the damping force adjusting.

The self-locking mechanism comprises an axial self-locking screw 10, a deformation groove 13 is formed in the base force adjusting locking nut 9, a unthreaded hole is formed in the base force adjusting locking nut 9 on one side of the deformation groove 13, a threaded hole is formed in the base force adjusting locking nut 9 on the other side of the deformation groove 13, and the axial self-locking screw 10 penetrates through the unthreaded hole and then is connected with the threaded hole. After the axial self-locking screw 10 is screwed down, the deformation groove 13 of the base force adjusting locking nut 9 is elastically deformed, the thread pitch of the thread of the base force adjusting locking nut 9 is changed, and the nut self-locking is realized. In order to further improve the reliability of the base force adjusting locking nut 9, the self-locking mechanism further comprises a radial self-locking screw 14, and the radial self-locking screw 14 penetrates through a radial threaded hole in the base force adjusting locking nut 9 and then is tightly propped against the pre-tightening shaft 8.

Friction surfaces of the friction disc 5 and the base 7, which are in contact with the pre-tightening gear 6, are subjected to DLC (diamond-like carbon) film coating treatment after being subjected to nitriding treatment. The friction surfaces on the two sides of the pre-tightening gear 6 are sprayed with ceramic coatings, so that the service life is long, and 8000 flight hours or 90 ten thousand times of use can be achieved. In the embodiment, the disc spring 12 with the inner diameter d equal to 8.2mm is selected as the basic force pre-tightening disc spring, and a GB/T1972 series C-type disc spring is selected according to the use requirement of the disc spring.

Referring to fig. 4, the damping force adjusting assembly 2 includes an X-shaped hinge assembly 16, a depression adjusting mechanism, and a damping force pre-tightening disc spring 20, and the X-shaped hinge assembly 16 is disposed in a housing 15. The press-down adjusting mechanism is connected with one side of the X-shaped hinge assembly 16, the damping force pre-tightening disc spring 20 is connected with the other side of the X-shaped hinge assembly 16, and the X-shaped hinge assembly 16 presses the damping force pre-tightening disc spring 20 on the other side of the friction disc 5.

Referring to fig. 5 to 7, the X-shaped hinge assembly 16 includes a first connecting rod 21, a second connecting rod 22, an adjusting nut 23, a fixing block 24, a slider 25 and a pressing plate 26, the first connecting rod 21 is rotatably connected to the middle of the second connecting rod 22, one end of the first connecting rod 21 is rotatably connected to the pressing plate 26, the adjusting nut 23 is rotatably connected to the other end of the first connecting rod 21, one end of the second connecting rod 22 is rotatably connected to the fixing block 24, the slider 25 is rotatably connected to the other end of the second connecting rod 22, the slider 25 is slidably disposed on the pressing plate 26, a guide shaft 27 slidably connected to the friction disc 5 is disposed on one side of the pressing plate 26, the damping force pre-tightening disc spring 20 is disposed on the guide shaft 27, and the pressing adjusting mechanism is connected. In this embodiment, the damping force pre-tightening disc spring 20 is formed by combining two disc springs with an inner diameter D equal to 11.2mm and an outer diameter D equal to 22.5 mm.

Referring to fig. 8-9, the pressing-down adjusting mechanism comprises a large gear shaft 19, one end of the large gear shaft 19 is rotatably connected with a fixing block 24, the large gear shaft 19 is meshed with an adjusting nut 23, and the other end of the large gear shaft 19 is connected with an adjusting handle 4 through a flexible shaft 3. The big gear shaft 19 is connected with the small gear shaft 17 through the transmission gear 18, and the upper end of the small gear shaft 17 is connected with the flexible shaft 3. The upper end of the flexible shaft 3 is fixedly connected with the joint 28 through the guide sleeve 34, the adjusting handle 4 is rotatably arranged outside the guide sleeve 34, and the joint 28 is connected with the adjusting handle 4 through a friction ring.

A joint fixing seat 32 is fixed on the adjusting handle 4, the friction ring comprises an upper friction ring 30 and a lower friction ring 31, the upper friction ring 30 and the lower friction ring 31 are arranged on two sides of the joint fixing seat 32, a pressure plate 29 which is compressed on the upper side of the upper friction ring 30 is arranged on the joint 28, and the joint 28 is in threaded connection with a joint locking nut 33 which is compressed on the lower side of the lower friction ring 31. The friction force of the upper friction ring 30 and the lower friction ring 31 is adjusted through the joint locking nut 33, so that the adjusting force of the adjusting handle 4 is adjusted.

Usually, a single set of control force regulator comprises 1 completely independent control force regulating device on the left and the right respectively, and realizes the regulation of the control force of the left throttle lever and the right throttle lever. The operating force regulator adopts the working principle of a contact type friction damper, and the magnitude of the output torque of the pre-tightening gear 6 is changed by changing the magnitude of the positive pressure of the friction pair, so that the operating force of the throttle lever is regulated.

Basic operating force: the basic force adjusting and locking nut 9 extrudes the basic force pre-tightening disc spring 12 to adjust the positive pressure of the friction pair, and the output torque of the pre-tightening gear 6 is changed. After the adjustment is completed, the base force is locked to adjust the lock nut 9, and stable base operating force is provided for the throttle lever. The friction disc 5, the base 7 and the pre-tightening gear 6 are made of metal and ceramic composite materials, the friction surfaces of the friction disc 5 and the base 7 are subjected to DLC film coating treatment after a nitriding treatment process, and the friction surface of the pre-tightening gear 6 is sprayed with a ceramic coating, so that the friction coefficient is stable and changes little with high and low temperatures.

Damping force: the rotating angle of the adjusting handle 4 is converted into the displacement of the pressure plate 26 through the transmission of the flexible shaft 3, the damping force is squeezed to pre-tighten the disc spring 20 to generate positive pressure, the positive pressure of the friction pair is changed, the output torque of the pre-tightening gear 6 is adjusted, and the damping force adjustment is realized. The adjusting handle 4 drives the large gear shaft 19 to rotate through the flexible shaft 3, and drives the adjusting nut 23 to move, so that the first connecting rod 21 and the second connecting rod 22 swing relatively, the pressing plate 26 is pushed to move towards one side of the friction disc 5, the damping force pre-tightening disc spring 20 is further pushed to extrude the friction disc 5, and the damping force is adjusted.

When the control force regulator works, the pre-tightening gear 6 rotates along with the movement of the throttle lever, the pre-tightening gear 6 can respectively drive the friction disc 5 and the base 7 to generate a movement trend due to the friction force of the friction pair, and the base 7 is fixed on the throttle table shell through a screw and cannot move; the friction disc 5 is limited by the base 7, and a certain gap exists between the friction disc 5 and the base according to the installation and adjustment requirements, so that the friction disc 5 slightly rotates. During design, a thrust needle bearing 11 is additionally arranged between the foundation force adjusting and locking nut 9 and the foundation force pre-tightening disc spring 12 to reduce disturbance of the friction disc 5 on the foundation force pre-tightening disc spring 12 and ensure stable moment of the pre-tightening gear 6. After the adjustment is finished, the axial self-locking screw 10 and the radial self-locking screw 14 are screwed, the part of the base force adjusting locking nut 9 is elastically deformed, the thread pitch of the nut thread is changed, and the nut self-locking is realized.

According to the invention, no power supply is needed on the machine, the base force adjusting and locking nut 9 extrudes the base force pre-tightening disc spring 12 to adjust the positive pressure of the friction pair, and the output torque of the pre-tightening gear 6 is changed. After the adjustment is completed, the foundation force is locked to adjust the lock nut 9, stable foundation operation force is provided for the throttle lever, and the thrust needle roller bearing 11 is additionally arranged between the foundation force adjusting lock nut 9 and the foundation force pre-tightening disc spring 12 so as to reduce the disturbance of the friction disc 5 to the foundation force pre-tightening disc spring 12 and ensure that the pre-tightening gear 6 has stable moment, good stability and strong reliability. The friction surfaces of the friction disc 5 and the base 7, which are in contact with the pre-tightening gear 6, are subjected to DLC film coating treatment after nitriding treatment.

Although the invention has been described in detail above with reference to a general description and specific examples, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications or improvements may be made thereto based on the invention. Accordingly, such modifications and improvements are intended to be within the scope of the invention as claimed.