阅读说明：本技术 一种体内脂肪选择性提取及纯化方法 (method for selectively extracting and purifying body fat ) 是由 张红芳 刘中国 王小琴 于 2019-10-12 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种体内脂肪选择性提取及纯化方法设备,包括固定架体(1)、抽吸模块(2)、超声扫描模块(3)和控制模块(4),该抽吸模块(2)中的抽吸装置(2)和超声扫描模块(3)能够在控制模块(4)的控制下沿固定架体(11)水平运动。能够实现抽脂区域的科学选择、抽吸气压的精确控制以及脂肪的及时纯化,从而保证了脂肪细胞的活性和移植成功率。(The invention relates to selective extraction and purification method and equipment for body fat, which comprises a fixed frame body (1), a suction module (2), an ultrasonic scanning module (3) and a control module (4), wherein a suction device (2) and the ultrasonic scanning module (3) in the suction module (2) can horizontally move along the fixed frame body (11) under the control of the control module (4), so that scientific selection of a fat pumping area, accurate control of suction air pressure and timely purification of fat can be realized, and the activity and transplantation success rate of fat cells are ensured.)

The selective extraction and purification method and equipment for the body fat of are characterized by comprising a fixing frame body (1), a suction module (2), an ultrasonic scanning module (3) and a control module (4), wherein the suction device (2) and the ultrasonic scanning module (3) in the suction module (2) can horizontally move along the fixing frame body (11) under the control of the control module (4).

2. The apparatus for selectively extracting and purifying body fat according to claim 1, wherein the fixing frame body comprises pairs of fixing brackets (11) and a beam (12) supported by the pair of fixing brackets (11).

3. The apparatus for selectively extracting and purifying body fat according to claim 2, wherein the cross bar (12) comprises a cross bar (121), a sliding groove (122) penetrating the cross bar (121) and located on the cross bar (121), a -th mounting module (123), a second mounting module (124), a -th transmission mechanism (125) and a second transmission mechanism (126), wherein the cross bar (121) is fixed above the 0 pair of support bars (111), and a long strip-shaped sliding groove (122) is formed at a position corresponding to the central axis of the long axis of the cross bar (121), and a left segment and a right segment of the sliding groove (122) are respectively clamped with a -th mounting module (123) and a second mounting module (124), wherein the -th mounting module (123) is used for mounting the suction module (2) and the second mounting module (124) is used for mounting the ultrasonic scanning module (3), wherein the 362-th and the second mounting modules respectively comprise a and a second mounting seat located on the front side of the cross bar (121), and a second slider (, 8295, 4835) located on the back side of the cross bar (121), and the second mounting module (123) is connected with the second sliding groove (123) and the second mounting module (387) and the second mounting module (123) is used for clamping the sliding groove (123).

4. The apparatus for selectively extracting and purifying body fat according to claim 3, wherein the suction module (2) and the ultrasonic scanning module (3) are respectively mounted on the fixing frame body through a second mounting seat .

5. The selective extraction and purification method of body fat according to claim 3, wherein the th and two sliding blocks are respectively connected with the th and two transmission mechanisms, the 0 th and two transmission mechanisms respectively comprise an active rocker and a passive rocker, wherein the ends of the active rocker of the 1 th and two transmission mechanisms are respectively connected to two rotating shafts at two ends of the cross bar (121), the other ends of the active rocker of the th and two transmission mechanisms are respectively connected to the free end of the passive rocker, the fixed ends of the passive rocker of the th and two transmission mechanisms are respectively fixed on the th and two sliding blocks, the two rotating shafts at two ends of the cross bar (121) are respectively connected with the th and two rotating motors, so that the rotating motors drive the active remote sensing to swing around the passive rocker and the passive rocker to swing, and finally the th installation module (123) and the second installation module (124) to integrally slide along the chute (122), and the th and two rotating motors are connected with the control module to realize control.

6. The apparatus for selective extraction and purification of body fat according to claim 1, wherein: the suction module (2) comprises a suction needle (21), a negative pressure system (22) and a lifting ring (23).

7. The apparatus for selectively extracting and purifying body fat according to claim 6, wherein the elevating ring (23) comprises an inner ring (231), a pair of rotating gears (232) and a housing (233), wherein the inner diameter surface of the inner ring (231) is made of rubber material having friction, the outer diameter surface of the inner ring (231) is provided with two racks at both ends of any diameter, the two racks are engaged with the rotating gears (232), and the two driving gears are rotatably fixed on the inner surface of the housing (233) through a frame body.

8. The apparatus for selective extraction and purification of body fat according to claim 1, wherein: the aspiration needle (21) includes a blunt tip (211) and a needle body (212).

9. The apparatus for selectively extracting and purifying body fat according to claim 8, wherein the needle body (212) comprises a cylindrical buffer part (2121), a spherical collecting chamber (2122) located above the cylindrical buffer part (2121), an th negative pressure applying chamber (2123) located at an upper portion of the spherical collecting chamber (2122), a exudate collector (2124) located obliquely below the spherical collecting chamber (2122) and extending vertically, and a second negative pressure applying chamber (2125) located at a sidewall of the exudate collector (2124).

10. The apparatus for selective extraction and purification of body fat according to claim 8, wherein: the central axis of the measuring area of the ultrasonic scanning module (3) and the vertical plane where the needle head of the suction needle (21) is located are in a vertical projection relation.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of biology, in particular to a selective extraction and purification method for in vivo fats.

Background

The autologous fat transplantation technology is widely applied to plastic surgeries such as breast enlargement, nose augmentation or scar repair, however, compared with the traditional artificial tissue substitute, the autologous fat has the advantages of good compatibility, simple and convenient operation, good filling appearance, small surgical wound, rich sources and the like, however, different fat extraction and processing modes directly influence the survival rate of transplantation, the current fat extraction technology adopts a manual low-pressure suction fat-pumping mode which is usually based on the experience of an operator, is that a fat-pumping area is selected and not optimized, specific numerical values of low pressure cannot be accurately controlled, extracted fat cannot be timely purified, and the extracted fat can cause cracking of fat cell performance.

Therefore, it is required to provide methods for selectively extracting and purifying body fat, which can realize scientific selection of liposuction area, precise control of suction pressure and timely purification of fat, thereby ensuring the activity of fat cells and the success rate of transplantation.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to solve the technical problem of providing methods for selectively extracting and purifying fat in vivo, which can realize scientific selection of liposuction areas, accurate control of suction air pressure and timely purification of fat, thereby ensuring the activity of fat cells and the success rate of transplantation.

The technical scheme adopted by the invention for solving the technical problems is as follows:

method for selectively extracting and purifying body fat, which comprises a fixed frame, a suction module 2, an ultrasonic scanning module 3 and a control module, wherein the suction device and the ultrasonic scanning module 3 can horizontally move along a fixed bracket 11 under the control of the control module.

, the fixing frame body includes pairs of fixing brackets 11 and the cross beam 12 supported by the fixing brackets 11.

, the beam 12 includes a cross bar 121, a sliding slot 122 penetrating the cross bar 121 on the cross bar 121, a mounting module 123, a second mounting module 124, a 0 transmission mechanism 125 and a second transmission mechanism 126, wherein the cross bar 121 is fixed above the 1 pair of support rods 111, and a long sliding slot 122 is opened at a position corresponding to the central axis of the long axis of the cross bar 121. the 2 mounting module 123 and the second mounting module 124 are respectively fastened to the left and right sections of the sliding slot 122, wherein the mounting module 123 is used for mounting the suction module 2 and the second mounting module 124 is used for mounting the ultrasonic scanning module 3, wherein the and the second mounting module respectively include a and a second mounting seat on the front side (front view surface) of the cross bar 121, and a and a second slider on the back view surface) of the cross bar 121, wherein the and the second slider have a diameter size corresponding to the width size of the sliding slot 122, and the and the second slider are fixedly connected with the 35 and the second mounting seat to realize that the slidable mounting module is fastened to the sliding slot 122.

, the suction module 2 and the ultrasonic scanning module 3 are respectively mounted on the fixing frame body through the th and the second mounting seats.

Step , step , wherein the th sliding block and the two sliding blocks are respectively connected to the th transmission mechanism and the two transmission mechanisms, the th transmission mechanism and the two transmission mechanisms respectively comprise an active rocking bar and a passive rocking bar, wherein the th end of the active rocking bar of the th transmission mechanism and the th end of the active rocking bar of the two transmission mechanisms are respectively connected to the two rotating shafts at the two ends of the cross bar 121, the th end of the active rocking bar of the second transmission mechanism and the th end of the active rocking bar of the second transmission mechanism are respectively connected to the free end of the passive rocking bar, the th end of the passive rocking bar of the second transmission mechanism and the fixed end of the passive rocking bar of the th transmission mechanism and the two sliding blocks, the two rotating shafts at the two ends of the cross bar 121 are respectively connected to the th rotating motor and the two rotating motors, so as to realize that the rotating motors drive the active remote sensing to rock around the passive rocking bars and finally.

, the suction module 2 includes a suction needle 21, a negative pressure system 22, and a lifting ring 23.

, the lifting ring 23 comprises inner rings 231 and , a pair of rotating gears 232 and a housing 233, wherein the inner diameter surface of the inner ring 231 is made of rubber material with friction force, the outer diameter surface of the inner ring 231 is provided with two racks at two ends of , the two racks are respectively meshed with rotating gears 232, and the two driving gears are rotatably fixed on the inner surface of the housing 233 through a frame body.

, aspiration needle 21 includes blunt tip 211 and body 212.

, the needle body 212 includes a cylindrical buffer part 2121, a spherical collecting chamber 2122 located above the cylindrical buffer part 2121, a th negative pressure applying chamber 2123 located above the spherical collecting chamber 2122, a exudate collector 2124 located obliquely below the spherical collecting chamber 2122 and extending vertically, and a second negative pressure applying chamber 2125 located at a side wall of the exudate collector 2124.

, the central axis of the measurement area of the ultrasonic scanning module 3 is vertically projected on the vertical plane of the needle of the suction needle 21.

The method for selectively extracting and purifying the fat in the body can realize scientific selection of a liposuction area, accurate control of suction air pressure and timely purification of the fat, thereby ensuring the activity of fat cells and the success rate of transplantation.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of the apparatus for selectively extracting and purifying body fat according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural view of the cross beam 12, wherein fig. 2a is a front view of the cross beam 12 (the back side transmission mechanism is omitted); fig. 2b is a rear view of the cross beam 12.

Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the lifting ring 23.

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural view of the aspiration needle 21.

Detailed Description

The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the appended drawings, wherein preferred embodiments of the invention are shown, it being understood that one skilled in the art can modify the invention herein described while still achieving the beneficial results of the present invention.

In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific details must be set forth in order to achieve the developer's specific goals.

In order to make the objects and features of the present invention more comprehensible, a further description of embodiments of the present invention is provided below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the drawings are in a very simplified form and employ non-precise ratios, and is merely used for convenience and clarity to assist in describing the embodiments of the present invention.

The method for selectively extracting and purifying body fat is based on devices for selectively extracting and purifying body fat, wherein the overall structure of the device for selectively extracting and purifying body fat is depicted in fig. 1 (the detailed structure of a part of modules is omitted in fig. 1 for better showing the overall structure, and the detailed structure of each module of the invention is shown in the following drawings for detailed description).

The device for selectively extracting and purifying the fat in the body comprises a fixed frame body 1, a suction module 2, an ultrasonic scanning module 3 and a control module 4.

Specifically, the holder body 1 comprises pairs of fixing brackets 11 and a cross beam 12 supported by the pairs of fixing brackets 11, because the activity of fat cathepsin of the thighs is highest, and the fat cells of the thighs have large volume and high fat production capacity, the method for selectively extracting and purifying fat in the body is directed to a method for extracting fat in the thighs, pairs of fixing brackets 11 comprise pairs of vertical rod-shaped support rods 111 and two unsealed annular fixing snap rings 112 respectively positioned at the lower ends of the support rods 111, pairs of upper ends of the support rods 111 and the lower surface of the cross beam 12 and pairs of fixing snap rings 112 respectively connected to the lower ends of the support rods 111, wherein the fixing snap rings 112 are made of elastic metal, preferably, the outer sides of the elastic metal can be wrapped with soft rubber or resin, the fixing snap rings 112 are used for being clamped on the peripheries of the thighs of a person to be subjected to fat extraction during fat extraction, and the position between the two fixing snap rings 112 is an optional area for fat extraction, the cross beam 12 and the surface of the fixing snap rings 112 support the cross beam 111, so that the skin of the cross beam 12 and the fixing snap rings 112 can be conveniently operated at a distance of 30-5915 cm.

Fig. 2 illustrates a specific structure of the cross beam 12, fig. 2a illustrates a front view of the cross beam 12 (a back-side transmission mechanism is omitted), fig. 2b illustrates a back view of the cross beam 12, fig. 2a illustrates the cross beam 12 including a cross rod 121, a sliding slot 122 penetrating the cross rod 121, a -th installation module 123, a second installation module 124, a -th transmission mechanism 125, and a second transmission mechanism 126, wherein the cross rod 121 is fixed above the support rod 111 of , a long sliding slot 122 is formed at a position corresponding to a central axis of a long axis of the cross rod 121, and a -th installation module 123 and a second installation module 124 are respectively fastened to left and right sections of the sliding slot 122.

The installation module 123 at the position of is used for installing the suction module 2, the installation module 124 at the position of 124 is used for installing the ultrasonic scanning module 3, wherein, the installation modules at the position of and two respectively comprise a th installation seat at the front side (front view surface) of the cross bar 121, a th sliding block and a second sliding block at the position of the back side (back view surface) of the cross bar 121, wherein, the diameter size of the th sliding block and the diameter size of the second sliding block are the width size of the sliding groove 122, and the th sliding block and the second sliding block are fixedly connected with the th installation seat and the second installation seat, thus realizing that the installation module 123 at the position of and the second installation module 124.

Referring to fig. 2b, the th sliding block and the second sliding block are respectively connected with the th transmission mechanism and the second transmission mechanism, the th transmission mechanism and the second transmission mechanism respectively comprise an active rocker and a passive rocker, wherein the ends of the active rocker of the th transmission mechanism and the active rocker of the second transmission mechanism are respectively connected to two rotating shafts positioned at two ends of the cross bar 121, the other ends of the active rocker of the th transmission mechanism and the active rocker of the second transmission mechanism are respectively connected to a free end of the passive rocker, the fixed ends of the passive rocker of the th transmission mechanism and the passive rocker of the second transmission mechanism are respectively fixed on the th sliding block and the second sliding block, the two rotating shafts positioned at two ends of the cross bar 121 are respectively connected with the th rotating motor and the second rotating motor, so that the rotating motor drives the active remote sensing to swing around the active remote sensing mechanism and the passive rocker, and finally the th mounting module 123.

The suction module 2 and the ultrasonic scanning module 3 are respectively installed on the fixed frame body 1 through a second installation seat .

The suction module 2 comprises a suction needle 21, a negative pressure system 22 and a lifting ring 23, wherein the lifting ring 23 is of an annular structure integrally and is obliquely arranged on the front surface of an -th mounting seat relative to a horizontal plane, preferably, the inclination angle is 45-60 degrees between the extending direction of a needle body 212 of the suction needle 21 and the horizontal plane, the lifting ring 23 is shown in a sectional view in fig. 3 and comprises inner rings 231 and , a rotating gear 232 and a shell 233, wherein the inner diameter surface of the inner ring 231 is made of rubber material with friction force, the inner diameter of the inner ring is tightly matched with the diameter of the needle body 212 of the suction needle 21, the fixed clamping of the suction needle 21 can be realized, the outer diameter surface of the inner ring 231 is provided with two racks at two ends of any diameter, the two racks are respectively meshed with rotating gears 232, the two transmission gears are rotatably fixed on the inner surface of the shell 233 through a frame body, the transmission gears are respectively connected with a mini motor, and the mini motor is connected with a control module to realize the mini control.

Under the necessary control condition, the control module drives the mini motor to drive the rotating gear 232 to rotate, so as to drive the suction needle 21 to lift along the extending direction of the lifting ring 23.

As shown in FIG. 4, the suction needle 21 includes a blunt needle head 211 and a needle body 212. the needle body 212 includes a cylindrical buffer part 2121, a spherical collecting chamber 2122 provided above the cylindrical buffer part 2121, an -th negative pressure applying chamber 2123 provided above the spherical collecting chamber 2122, a exudate collector 2124 provided obliquely below the spherical collecting chamber 2122 and extending vertically, and a second negative pressure applying chamber 2125 provided at a side wall of the exudate collector 2124.

Wherein the cylindrical buffer part 2121 is adapted to be held by the elevating ring 23 and primarily receives fat, and further negative pressure is applied to suck the fat introduced into the cylindrical buffer part 2121 steps into the spherical collecting chamber 2122. the spherical collecting chamber 2122 has inlets connected to the cylindrical buffer part 2121, and two outlets connected to the negative pressure applying chamber 2123 and the second negative pressure applying chamber 2125, respectively, wherein a screen 2126 is installed at both outlet positions, and preferably, the screen 2126 may be made of stainless steel or plastic material.

The th negative pressure applying chamber 2123 and the second negative pressure applying chamber 2125 are connected to of two air pumps in the negative pressure system 22 through separate air passages, respectively, for generating negative pressure, which are connected to a controller for controlling the opening and closing thereof and the suction force, the th negative pressure applying chamber 2123 and the second negative pressure applying chamber 2125 commonly apply negative pressures of 0.6 to 0.8 atm in total to the cylindrical buffer part 2121 and the spherical collecting chamber 2122, wherein the th negative pressure applying chamber 2123 applies a negative pressure smaller than that of the second negative pressure applying chamber 2125, and preferably, the th negative pressure applying chamber 2123 applies a negative pressure smaller than that of the second negative pressure applying chamber 2125 by 0.2 to 0.3 atm.

Under the above-mentioned negative pressure application condition, after the fat enters the spherical collecting chamber 2122 through the cylindrical buffer part 2121, the negative pressure of the second negative pressure applying chamber 2125 located obliquely below the spherical collecting chamber 2122 is slightly large, so that the suction force obliquely below the fat is large, and the excessive exudate in the fat is filtered out through the screen 2126 located at the outlet of the second negative pressure applying chamber 2125 in combination with the action of gravity, and the exudate flows into the interior of the exudate collector 2124 located obliquely below the spherical collecting chamber 2122 and extending vertically under the action of gravity and is collected, so that the suction and preliminary purification functions are realized by the arrangement of the and the two negative pressure applying chambers, and the quality of the fat is ensured.

As the negative pressure is continuously applied, more fat enters the spherical collecting chamber 2122 through the cylindrical buffer 2121, and when the collecting chamber filled with the fat collected by the spherical collecting chamber 2122 blocks the air passage completely, the air pressure in the th and second negative pressure applying chambers increases suddenly and suddenly, and the sudden increase of the air pressure is monitored by the barometer positioned in the air passage of the th and second negative pressure applying chambers, and the controller turns off the air pump of the negative pressure system 22 to stop the suction.

The ultrasonic scanning module 3 is mounted on a second mounting seat, which is similar in structure to the lifting ring 23 and is also of a hollow annular structure, and the mounting seat comprises an inner annular seat, pairs of rotating gears 232 and a housing 233, and the central axis of the measuring area of the ultrasonic scanning module 3 is vertically projected relative to the vertical plane of the needle of the suction needle 21.

The inner diameter surface of the inner ring seat is made of rubber materials with friction force, the inner diameter of the inner ring seat is tightly matched with the diameter of the outer contour of the ultrasonic scanning module 3, and the ultrasonic scanning module 3 can be fixedly clamped, the outer diameter surface of the inner ring seat is provided with two racks at any diameter ends, the two racks are respectively meshed with rotating gears 232, the two driving gears are rotatably fixed on the inner surface of the shell 233 through a frame body, the driving gears are respectively connected with a mini motor, so that the input of rotating power is realized, and the mini motor is connected with the control module to realize control.

The ultrasonic scanning module 3 can be lifted up and down in a matching mode through the second mounting seat, so that the skin of a person to be liposuctioned is contacted, and scanning is achieved. Specifically, the scanning angle of the ultrasonic scanning device can be adjusted appropriately according to different installation modes; in addition, a pressure feedback device can be installed in the motor transmission system, namely when the pressure feedback device senses pressure feedback, the end face of the ultrasonic scanning module 3 touches the skin of a human body, and at the moment, the mini motor can be stopped from rotating through the controller. This is well known to those skilled in the art and will not be described further herein.

The control module is used for receiving the ultrasonic scanning signal and the barometer measuring signal of the negative pressure applying cavity, performing data analysis and outputting a control signal, and the mini motor, the rotating motor, the negative pressure system 22 air pump, the rotating motor of the transmission mechanism and other components are connected to the control module and controlled by the control module. The specific control method will be described in detail in the following method description.

A selective extraction and purification method of body fat based on selective extraction and purification devices of body fat comprises the following steps:

1. the fixing bracket 11 is attached to the outer thigh region of the operator.

2. The th mounting module 123 and the second mounting module 124 are respectively disposed at the leftmost and rightmost ends of the chute 122, and the leftmost and rightmost ends of the chute 122 are set as the zero points of two devices.

3. The mini motor of the second mounting seat is controlled by the controller to rotate to drive the ultrasonic scanning module 3 to move downwards, when the pressure feedback device senses pressure feedback (namely the testing end face of the ultrasonic scanning module 3 is contacted with the skin surface of a person to be liposuctioned), the motor stops rotating, the ultrasonic scanning module 3 is fixed, and the measurement depth h of the ultrasonic scanning module 3 is set, preferably the measurement depth is 3-4 cm, and the measurement is the liposuction depth.

4. The controller drives the rotating motor of the second transmission mechanism 126 to drive the active rocker to swing, so that the ultrasonic scanning module 3 horizontally reciprocates along the direction of the chute 122, calculates the moving distance of the ultrasonic scanning module 3 (i.e. the horizontal distance relative to the right zero point) according to the rotating angle of the rotating motor, and records the ultrasonic scanning image with the horizontal distance.

5. After receiving the scanned image, the controller performs automatic image analysis through image analysis software, judges the blood vessel density in a unit area, and determines a point which is overlapped with the central axis of the measurement area of the ultrasonic scanning module 3 in the area with the lowest blood vessel density in the whole scanned image. Preferably, the point may be a middle point and/or two end points of a line segment coinciding with the central axis of the measurement region of the ultrasound scanning module 3 in the region of the lowest blood vessel density in the scanned image, and the coordinates of the point, i.e., the distance to the rightmost end of the chute 122 and the depth under the skin, are obtained.

6. Driving the suction needle 21, and enabling the needle head of the suction needle 21 to correspond to the coordinate of the liposuction position according to the coordinate of the suction point; and drives the mini motor in the elevation ring 23 so that the suction needle 21 moves down to a corresponding position.

7. The negative pressure system 22 is turned on to perform liposuction, wherein the th negative pressure applying chamber 2123 and the second negative pressure applying chamber 2125 are respectively connected to of two air pumps in the negative pressure system 22 through independent air passages for generating negative pressure, the two air pumps are connected to a controller to control the opening and closing of the two air pumps and the suction force, the th negative pressure applying chamber 2123 and the second negative pressure applying chamber 2125 commonly apply negative pressure to the cylindrical buffer part 2121 and the spherical collecting chamber 2122 at a pressure of 0.6 to 0.8 atm in total, wherein the negative pressure applied by the th negative pressure applying chamber 2123 is smaller than the negative pressure applied by the second negative pressure applying chamber 2125, and preferably, the negative pressure applied by the th negative pressure applying chamber 2123 is smaller than the negative pressure applied by the second negative pressure applying chamber 2125 by 0.2 to 0.3 atm.

8. When the pressure is monitored by the barometer in the air passage of the th negative pressure applying cavity and the second negative pressure applying cavity, the controller turns off the air pump of the negative pressure system 22 to stop sucking and take out fat.

By the method for preserving the autologous fat particles at the low temperature, fat pollution can be avoided, and the survival rate of later fat transplantation is improved.

The foregoing illustrates and describes the principles, general features, and advantages of the present invention. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, which are described in the specification and illustrated only to illustrate the principle of the present invention, but that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, which fall within the scope of the invention as claimed. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.