阅读说明：本技术 一种中医科用中药加工捣药装置 (Department of traditional chinese medicine is with traditional chinese medicine processing device of pounding medicine in a mortar ) 是由 胡婷婷 司海静 于 2021-07-13 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种中医科用中药加工捣药装置,包括固定脚,所述固定脚的上端设置有底板,所述底板的上端后端设置有支撑板,所述支撑板的前端靠近上端一端设置有切割机构,所述切割机构包括第一电机、转动轴、偏心块、第一连接杆、第二连接杆、滑动块、滑槽块、刀具固定块和切割刀,所述支撑板的后端上端靠近一端设置有第一电机,所述第一电机的前端设置有转动轴,所述转动轴的前端设置有偏心块,所述偏心块的前端一端设置有第一连接杆。本发明切割均匀,使用便捷,可以大大提高药草的切割效率,利用机械有效代替人工捣药,进一步降低了医务人员的工作强度,更好的满足使用需要。(The invention discloses a traditional Chinese medicine processing pounding device for a traditional Chinese medicine department, which comprises a fixing foot, wherein a bottom plate is arranged at the upper end of the fixing foot, a supporting plate is arranged at the rear end of the upper end of the bottom plate, a cutting mechanism is arranged at one end, close to the upper end, of the front end of the supporting plate, the cutting mechanism comprises a first motor, a rotating shaft, an eccentric block, a first connecting rod, a second connecting rod, a sliding block, a sliding groove block, a cutter fixing block and a cutting knife, the first motor is arranged at one end, close to the upper end, of the rear end of the supporting plate, the front end of the first motor is provided with the rotating shaft, the eccentric block is arranged at the front end of the rotating shaft, and the first connecting rod is arranged at one end of the front end of the eccentric block. The medicine smashing machine has the advantages of uniform cutting, convenient use, capability of greatly improving the cutting efficiency of medicinal herbs, capability of effectively replacing manual medicine smashing by using machinery, further reduction of the working strength of medical staff and better satisfaction of use requirements.)

1. The utility model provides a department of traditional chinese medicine is with traditional chinese medicine processing device of pounding medicine in a mortar, includes fixed foot (1), its characterized in that: a bottom plate (2) is arranged at the upper end of the fixed foot (1), a supporting plate (3) is arranged at the rear end of the upper end of the bottom plate (2), a cutting mechanism (4) is arranged at one end, close to the upper end, of the front end of the supporting plate (3), the cutting mechanism (4) comprises a first motor (401), a rotating shaft (402), an eccentric block (403), a first connecting rod (404), a second connecting rod (405), a sliding block (406), a sliding groove block (407), a cutter fixing block (408) and a cutting knife (409), the first motor (401) is arranged at one end, close to the upper end, of the rear end of the supporting plate (3), the rotating shaft (402) is arranged at the front end of the first motor (401), the eccentric block (403) is arranged at the front end of the rotating shaft (402), the first connecting rod (404) is arranged at one end of the front end of the eccentric block (403), the second connecting rod (, the rear end of the second connecting rod (405) is provided with a sliding block (406), the rear end of the outer surface of the sliding block (406) is provided with a sliding groove block (407), the lower end of the front end of the sliding block (406) is provided with a cutter fixing block (408), the lower end of the cutter fixing block (408) is provided with a cutting knife (409), and the lower side of the front end cutting knife (409) of the supporting plate (3) is provided with a cutting and feeding inclined pipeline (5).

2. The traditional Chinese medicine pounding device for traditional Chinese medicine processing in the traditional Chinese medicine department according to claim 1 is characterized in that: first motor (401) fixed mounting is close to upper end one end region at the rear end of backup pad (3), the rear end of axis of rotation (402) and the front end swing joint of first motor (401), swing joint between axis of rotation (402) run through the front and back end of backup pad (3) and the running through face, the other end rear end of eccentric block (403) is at the front side of backup pad (3) and the front end fixed connection of axis of rotation (402).

3. The traditional Chinese medicine pounding device for traditional Chinese medicine processing in the traditional Chinese medicine department according to claim 1 is characterized in that: the upper end of the first connecting rod (404) is movably connected with one end of the front end of the eccentric block (403) through a bearing, the lower end of the first connecting rod (404) is movably connected with the upper end of the second connecting rod (405) through a bearing, and the lower end of the second connecting rod (405) is fixedly connected with the front end of the sliding block (406) close to the upper end region.

4. The traditional Chinese medicine pounding device for traditional Chinese medicine processing in the traditional Chinese medicine department according to claim 1 is characterized in that: the rear side of the outer surface of the sliding block (406) is in sliding connection with the inner surface of the sliding groove block (407), the rear end of the sliding groove block (407) is fixedly connected with the front end of the supporting plate (3), and the rear end of the cutter fixing block (408) is fixedly connected with the front end of the sliding block (406) close to the lower end.

5. The traditional Chinese medicine pounding device for traditional Chinese medicine processing in the traditional Chinese medicine department according to claim 1 is characterized in that: the cutting knife (409) is fixedly installed at the lower end of the knife fixing block (408), the cutting feeding inclined pipeline (5) is fixedly installed at the lower side of the front end cutting knife (409) of the supporting plate (3), a notch is formed in the upper end of the cutting feeding inclined pipeline (5), and the cutting knife (409) is indirectly connected with the pipeline notch of the cutting feeding inclined pipeline (5) in a cutting mode.

6. The traditional Chinese medicine pounding device for traditional Chinese medicine processing in the traditional Chinese medicine department according to claim 1 is characterized in that: one end of the cutting and feeding inclined pipeline (5) is provided with a grinding mechanism (6), the grinding mechanism (6) comprises a fixing plate (601), a second motor (602), a turntable (603), a grinding rod (604), a supporting plate (605), angle adjusting balls (606), grinding balls (607), a grinding box (608) and a medicine taking window (609), one end of the upper end of a bottom plate (2) at one end of the cutting and feeding inclined pipeline (5) is provided with the grinding box (608), the inner surface of the lower end of the interior of the grinding box (608) is provided with the grinding balls (607), the upper end of the grinding balls (607) is provided with the grinding rod (604), the middle area of the grinding rod (604) is provided with the angle adjusting balls (606), the outer surface of the upper angle adjusting balls (606) of the grinding box (608) is provided with the supporting plate (605), and the upper end of the grinding rod (604) is provided with the turntable (603), the upper end of the rotary disc (603) is provided with a second motor (602), the upper end of the second motor (602) is provided with a fixing plate (601), and the front end of the grinding box (608) is provided with a medicine taking window (609).

7. The traditional Chinese medicine processing pounding device for the traditional Chinese medicine department according to claim 6 is characterized in that: one end of the grinding box (608) is fixedly communicated with the other end of the cutting and feeding inclined pipeline (5), the supporting plate (605) is fixedly installed on the upper side of the grinding box (608), and the angle adjusting ball (606) is movably connected with the central area of the supporting plate (605).

8. The traditional Chinese medicine processing pounding device for the traditional Chinese medicine department according to claim 6 is characterized in that: grind pole (604) and run through fixed connection between the face and the upper and lower end of angle adjusting ball (606), through bearing location swing joint between the upper end of grinding pole (604) and the lower extreme edge of carousel (603), the upper end of carousel (603) and the lower extreme pivot fixed connection of second motor (602), fixed plate (601) fixed mounting is close to the other end at the front end of backup pad (3), the lower extreme of fixed plate (601) and the upper end fixed connection of second motor (602).

9. The traditional Chinese medicine processing pounding device for the traditional Chinese medicine department according to claim 6 is characterized in that: the lower end of the grinding rod (604) is fixedly connected with the upper end of a grinding ball (607), the grinding ball (607) is in friction connection with the inner surface of the inner lower end of the grinding box (608) through the grinding rod (604), the lower end of the grinding box (608) is in a spherical design, and the medicine taking window (609) is arranged at the front end of the grinding box (608).

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of medical equipment, in particular to a traditional Chinese medicine processing and pounding device for a traditional Chinese medicine department.

Background

Chinese medicine has a history of thousands of years, is extremely rich experience summary which is gradually accumulated by practice and continuous understanding in the process of fighting diseases for thousands of years of people in China, and makes great contribution to prosperity and prosperity of China; nowadays, traditional Chinese medicines are safe, have no damage to gastrointestinal tracts, have small stimulation to liver and kidney and have few side effects, and are more and more medicines for preventing, diagnosing and treating diseases or regulating human body functions under the guidance of the theory of traditional Chinese medicine.

However, the process of pounding to pieces of traditional chinese-medicinal material is generally pounded to pieces manually with the pestle in the medicine mortar, and when the chinese-medicinal material that needs to pound to pieces is more, pounding to pieces the chinese-medicinal material that the person need spend more time, and work efficiency is lower, and along with the extension of pounding to pieces the time, pounding to pieces the person physical consumption very big, increased pounding to pieces person's working strength, so urgently need a scheme that can alleviate above-mentioned problem.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a traditional Chinese medicine processing and pounding device for a traditional Chinese medicine department, and aims to solve the problems in the background technology.

In order to achieve the purpose, the invention provides the following technical scheme: a traditional Chinese medicine processing pounding device for traditional Chinese medicine department comprises a fixing foot, a bottom plate is arranged at the upper end of the fixing foot, a supporting plate is arranged at the rear end of the upper end of the bottom plate, a cutting mechanism is arranged at the end, close to the upper end, of the front end of the supporting plate, the cutting mechanism comprises a first motor, a rotating shaft, an eccentric block, a first connecting rod, a second connecting rod, a sliding block, a sliding groove block, a cutter fixing block and a cutter, the first motor is arranged at the end, close to the upper end, of the rear end of the supporting plate, the rotating shaft is arranged at the front end of the first motor, the eccentric block is arranged at the front end of the rotating shaft, the first connecting rod is arranged at one end of the front end of the eccentric block, the second connecting rod is arranged at the lower end of the front end of the first connecting rod, the sliding block is arranged at the rear end of the second connecting rod, the sliding block is arranged at the rear end of the outer surface, the sliding groove block is provided with the cutter fixing block, the lower extreme of cutter fixed block is provided with the cutting knife, the downside of the front end cutting knife of backup pad is provided with cutting pay-off inclined tube way.

Preferably, first motor fixed mounting is close to upper end one end region at the rear end of backup pad, the rear end of axis of rotation and the front end swing joint of first motor, the axis of rotation runs through the front and back end of backup pad and runs through swing joint between the face, the other end rear end of eccentric block is in the front side of backup pad and the front end fixed connection of axis of rotation.

Preferably, the upper end of the first connecting rod is movably connected with one end of the front end of the eccentric block through a bearing, the lower end of the first connecting rod is movably connected with the upper end of the second connecting rod through a bearing, and the lower end of the second connecting rod is fixedly connected with the front end of the sliding block close to the upper end region.

Preferably, sliding connection between the surface rear side of sliding block and the internal surface of spout piece, the rear end of spout piece and the front end fixed connection of backup pad, the rear end of cutter fixed block and the front end of sliding block are close to lower extreme fixed connection.

Preferably, the cutting knife is fixedly installed at the lower end of the knife fixing block, the cutting feeding inclined pipeline is fixedly installed at the lower side of the cutting knife at the front end of the supporting plate, a notch is formed in the upper end of the cutting feeding inclined pipeline, and the cutting knife is indirectly connected with the inside of the pipeline notch of the cutting feeding inclined pipeline in a cutting mode.

Preferably, one end of the cutting and feeding inclined pipeline is provided with a grinding mechanism, the grinding mechanism comprises a fixed plate, a second motor, a rotary disc, a grinding rod, a supporting disc, an angle adjusting ball, a grinding box and a medicine taking window, the upper end of a bottom plate at one end of the cutting and feeding inclined pipeline is provided with the grinding box, the grinding ball is arranged on the inner surface of the lower end of the grinding box, the grinding rod is arranged at the upper end of the grinding ball, the angle adjusting ball is arranged in the middle area of the grinding rod, the supporting disc is arranged on the outer surface of the angle adjusting ball on the upper side of the grinding box, the rotary disc is arranged at the upper end of the grinding rod, the second motor is arranged at the upper end of the rotary disc, the fixed plate is arranged at the upper end of the second motor, and the medicine taking window is arranged at the front end of the grinding box.

Preferably, one end of the grinding box is fixedly connected with the other end of the cutting and feeding inclined pipeline in a communicating mode, the supporting plate is fixedly installed on the upper side of the grinding box, and the angle adjusting ball is movably connected in the central area of the supporting plate.

Preferably, grind the pole and run through fixed connection between the face and the upper and lower end of angle adjusting ball, through bearing location swing joint between the upper end of grinding the pole and the lower extreme edge of carousel, the upper end of carousel and the lower extreme pivot fixed connection of second motor, fixed plate fixed mounting is close to the other end at the front end of backup pad, the lower extreme of fixed plate and the upper end fixed connection of second motor.

Preferably, the lower end of the grinding rod is fixedly connected with the upper end of a grinding ball, the grinding ball is in friction connection with the inner surface of the lower end of the interior of the grinding box through the grinding rod, the lower end of the grinding box is in a spherical design, and the medicine taking window is arranged at the front end of the grinding box.

Compared with the prior art, the invention has the following beneficial effects:

when in use, the first motor is started firstly, the rotating shaft and the eccentric block are driven to rotate by the first motor, then the upper end of the first connecting rod is driven to move annularly along with the eccentric rotation of the eccentric block, the first connecting rod drives the second connecting rod to move up and down, so as to further drive the sliding block to slide up and down on the inner surface of the sliding groove block, the cutter fixing block is driven to synchronously move up and down at the front end of the sliding block through the up-and-down sliding track of the sliding block, make the cutting knife carry out the up-and-down cutting motion in the upper end notch inside of cutting pay-off inclined tube way, send into the inside of cutting pay-off inclined tube way through the one end of cutting pay-off inclined tube way with prepared herb this moment, make the cutting knife carry out the at the uniform velocity cutting to the inside herb of cutting pay-off inclined tube way, this device cutting is even, and it is convenient to use, can improve the cutting efficiency of herb greatly.

After the medicinal herbs cutting finishes, the medicinal herbs granule after the cutting can enter into the inside of cutter fixed block from the other end of cutting pay-off inclined pipeline, can drive the carousel through starting the second motor and rotate, and then the upper end that drives the grinding miller carries out the annular motion at the lower extreme of carousel, after the upper end of grinding miller rotates, use supporting disk and supporting disk as the axle center, the grinding ball can carry out annular friction motion at the inside lower extreme internal surface of grinding case, thereby roll the medicinal herbs granule of grinding incasement portion, reach and smash the medicine purpose, it can to take out through getting it filled window at last, this device is smashed the medicine evenly, can utilize machinery to effectively replace artifical medicine of smashing, medical staff's operating pressure has further been reduced.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the overall structure of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial schematic view of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a partial schematic view of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of part A of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the cutting mechanism of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the portion B of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the grinding mechanism of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the part C according to the present invention.

In the figure: 1. a fixing leg; 2. a base plate; 3. a support plate; 4. a cutting mechanism; 5. cutting the feeding inclined pipeline; 6. a grinding mechanism; 401. a first motor; 402. a rotating shaft; 403. an eccentric block; 404. a first connecting rod; 405. a second connecting rod; 406. a slider; 407. a chute block; 408. a cutter fixing block; 409. a cutting knife; 601. a fixing plate; 602. a second motor; 603. a turntable; 604. a grinding rod; 605. a support disc; 606. an angle adjusting ball; 607. grinding balls; 608. grinding a box; 609. and (6) a medicine taking window.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments.

In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", and the like, indicate orientations and positional relationships that are relative to each other, are used only for convenience in describing the present invention and for simplicity in description, and do not indicate or imply that the referenced devices or components must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore, are not to be construed as limiting the present invention.

Referring to fig. 1-8, an embodiment of the present invention: a traditional Chinese medicine processing pounding device for traditional Chinese medicine department comprises a fixing foot 1, a bottom plate 2 is arranged at the upper end of the fixing foot 1, a supporting plate 3 is arranged at the rear end of the upper end of the bottom plate 2, a cutting mechanism 4 is arranged at the front end, close to the upper end, of the supporting plate 3, the cutting mechanism 4 comprises a first motor 401, a rotating shaft 402, an eccentric block 403, a first connecting rod 404, a second connecting rod 405, a sliding block 406, a sliding groove block 407, a cutter fixing block 408 and a cutting knife 409, the first motor 401 is arranged at the upper end, close to one end, of the rear end of the supporting plate 3, the rotating shaft 402 is arranged at the front end of the first motor 401, the eccentric block 403 is arranged at the front end of the rotating shaft 402, the first connecting rod 404 is arranged at one end of the front end of the eccentric block, the second connecting rod 405 is arranged at the lower end of the front end of the first connecting rod 404, the sliding block 406 is arranged at the rear end of the second connecting rod 405, the rear end of the outer surface of the sliding block 406 is provided with the sliding groove block 407, the lower end of the front end of the sliding block 406 is provided with a cutter fixing block 408, the lower end of the cutter fixing block 408 is provided with a cutting knife 409, and the lower side of the front end cutting knife 409 of the supporting plate 3 is provided with a cutting and feeding inclined pipeline 5.

The first motor 401 is fixedly installed at the rear end of the support plate 3 near the upper end region, the rear end of the rotating shaft 402 is movably connected with the front end of the first motor 401, the rotating shaft 402 penetrates through the front end and the rear end of the support plate 3 and is movably connected with the penetrating surface, and the rear end of the other end of the eccentric block 403 is fixedly connected with the front end of the rotating shaft 402 at the front side of the support plate 3.

The upper end of the first connecting rod 404 is movably connected with one end of the front end of the eccentric block 403 through a bearing, the lower end of the first connecting rod 404 is movably connected with the upper end of the second connecting rod 405 through a bearing, and the lower end of the second connecting rod 405 is fixedly connected with the front end area close to the upper end of the sliding block 406.

The rear side of the outer surface of the sliding block 406 is in sliding connection with the inner surface of the sliding groove block 407, the rear end of the sliding groove block 407 is fixedly connected with the front end of the supporting plate 3, and the rear end of the cutter fixing block 408 is fixedly connected with the front end of the sliding block 406 close to the lower end.

The cutting knife 409 is fixedly arranged at the lower end of the knife fixing block 408, the cutting and feeding inclined pipeline 5 is fixedly arranged at the lower side of the cutting knife 409 at the front end of the supporting plate 3, a notch is formed in the upper end of the cutting and feeding inclined pipeline 5, and the cutting knife 409 is indirectly connected with the inside of the pipeline notch of the cutting and feeding inclined pipeline 5 in a cutting manner; when the device is used, the first motor 401 is started firstly, the rotating shaft 402 and the eccentric block 403 are driven to rotate by the first motor 401, then the upper end of the first connecting rod 404 is driven to move circularly along with the eccentric rotation of the eccentric block 403, and the second connecting rod 405 is driven to move up and down by the first connecting rod 404, so that the sliding block 406 is further driven to slide up and down on the inner surface of the sliding groove block 407, the cutter fixing block 408 is driven to move up and down synchronously at the front end of the sliding block 406 by the up-and-down sliding track of the sliding block 406, so that the cutting knife 409 performs up-and-down cutting motion in the upper end notch of the cutting feeding inclined pipeline 5, at the moment, the prepared herb is sent into the cutting feeding inclined pipeline 5 through one end of the cutting feeding inclined pipeline 5, the cutting knife 409 performs uniform-speed cutting on the herb in the cutting feeding inclined pipeline 5, and the device performs uniform cutting, the use is convenient, and the cutting efficiency of the medicinal herbs can be greatly improved.

One end of the cutting and feeding inclined pipeline 5 is provided with a grinding mechanism 6, the grinding mechanism 6 comprises a fixing plate 601, a second motor 602, a rotary disc 603, a grinding rod 604, a supporting disc 605, an angle adjusting ball 606, a grinding ball 607, a grinding box 608 and a medicine taking window 609, one end of the upper end of a bottom plate 2 at one end of the cutting and feeding inclined pipeline 5 is provided with the grinding box 608, the inner surface of the lower end of the inside of the grinding box 608 is provided with the grinding ball 607, the upper end of the grinding ball 607 is provided with the grinding rod 604, the middle area of the grinding rod 604 is provided with the angle adjusting ball 606, the outer surface of the upper angle adjusting ball 606 of the grinding box 608 is provided with the supporting disc 605, the upper end of the grinding rod 604 is provided with the rotary disc 603, the upper end of the rotary disc 603 is provided with the second motor 602, the upper end of the second motor 602 is provided with the fixing plate 601, and the front end of the grinding box 608 is provided with the medicine taking window 609.

One end of the grinding box 608 is fixedly connected with the other end of the cutting and feeding inclined pipe 5, the supporting plate 605 is fixedly arranged on the upper side of the grinding box 608, and the angle adjusting ball 606 is movably connected with the central area of the supporting plate 605.

The grinding rod 604 penetrates through the upper end and the lower end of the angle adjusting ball 606 and is fixedly connected with the penetrating surface, the upper end of the grinding rod 604 is movably connected with the lower end edge of the turntable 603 through a bearing in a positioning mode, the upper end of the turntable 603 is fixedly connected with the lower end rotating shaft of the second motor 602, the fixing plate 601 is fixedly installed at the front end of the supporting plate 3 and is close to the other end, and the lower end of the fixing plate 601 is fixedly connected with the upper end of the second motor 602.

The lower end of the grinding rod 604 is fixedly connected with the upper end of the grinding ball 607, the grinding ball 607 is in friction connection with the inner surface of the inner lower end of the grinding box 608 through the grinding rod 604, the lower end of the grinding box 608 is designed to be spherical, and a medicine taking window 609 is arranged at the front end of the grinding box 608; after the cutting of the herbs is finished, the cut herb particles can enter the cutter fixing block 408 from the other end of the cutting and feeding inclined pipeline 5, the turntable 603 can be driven to rotate by starting the second motor 602, the upper end of the grinding rod 604 is driven to do annular motion at the lower end of the turntable 603, after the upper end of the grinding rod 604 rotates, the supporting disk 605 and the supporting disk 605 are taken as axes, the grinding ball 607 can do annular friction motion on the inner surface of the lower end of the interior of the grinding box 608, so that the herb particles in the grinding box 608 are rolled to achieve the purpose of smashing the herbs, and finally the herb particles are taken out through the herb taking window 609.

The working principle is as follows: when the device is used, a first motor (model: SC400)401 is started firstly, the rotating shaft 402 and the eccentric block 403 are driven to rotate by the first motor 401, then the upper end of a first connecting rod 404 is driven to move circularly along with the eccentric rotation of the eccentric block 403, then the second connecting rod 405 is driven to move up and down by the first connecting rod 404, so that a sliding block 406 is further driven to slide up and down on the inner surface of a sliding groove block 407, a cutter fixing block 408 is driven to move up and down synchronously at the front end of the sliding block 406 through the up-and-down sliding track of the sliding block 406, a cutting knife 409 performs up-and-down cutting motion in the upper end notch of the cutting feeding inclined pipeline 5, at the moment, the prepared medicinal herbs are sent into the cutting feeding inclined pipeline 5 through one end of the cutting feeding inclined pipeline 5, and the cutting knife 409 performs uniform-speed cutting on the medicinal herbs in the cutting feeding inclined pipeline 5, and the device performs uniform cutting, the use is convenient, and the cutting efficiency of the medicinal herbs can be greatly improved; after the cutting of the herbs is finished, the cut herb particles enter the cutter fixing block 408 from the other end of the cutting and feeding inclined pipeline 5, the second motor (model: SC350)602 is started to drive the rotating disc 603 to rotate, so that the upper end of the grinding rod 604 is driven to do annular motion at the lower end of the rotating disc 603, after the upper end of the grinding rod 604 rotates, the supporting disc 605 and the supporting disc 605 are taken as axes, the grinding ball 607 performs annular friction motion on the inner surface of the lower end of the inner part of the grinding box 608, so that the herb particles in the grinding box 608 are rolled to achieve the purpose of smashing the herbs, and finally the herb particles are taken out through the herb taking window 609.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.