阅读说明：本技术 一种多工位包装盒的拼接成型装置 (Splicing and forming device for multi-station packaging boxes ) 是由 徐盼盼 张皖龙 于 2019-10-22 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种多工位包装盒的拼接成型装置,包括底板、旋转平台、槽轮机构、转动电机、支撑机构、上连板、对位推杆和支撑套,所述的旋转平台位于底板的正上方,槽轮机构的右端安装在底板的中部与旋转平台的中部之间,槽轮机构的左端通过转动电机安装在底板的顶部上,旋转平台的顶部上对称安装有支撑机构,支撑套位于旋转平台的右端上方,支撑套的顶部与对位推杆的下端相连接,对位推杆的上端安装在上连板的底部上。本发明可以解决现有包装盒的生产时存在的：人工对包装盒进行拼接时对位会出现一定的偏差,从而盒壁与盒底拼接需要人工将盒壁进行矫正、包装盒的盒壁与盒底插接深度无法限定等问题。(The invention relates to a splicing and forming device of a multi-station packaging box, which comprises a bottom plate, a rotary platform, a sheave mechanism, a rotary motor, a supporting mechanism, an upper connecting plate, an alignment push rod and a supporting sleeve, wherein the rotary platform is positioned right above the bottom plate, the right end of the sheave mechanism is arranged between the middle part of the bottom plate and the middle part of the rotary platform, the left end of the sheave mechanism is arranged on the top of the bottom plate through the rotary motor, the supporting mechanism is symmetrically arranged on the top of the rotary platform, the supporting sleeve is positioned above the right end of the rotary platform, the top of the supporting sleeve is connected with the lower end of the alignment push rod, and the upper end of the alignment push rod is arranged on the bottom of the upper. The invention can solve the problems existing in the production of the prior packing box that: certain deviation can appear in the counterpoint when artifical splices the packing carton to box wall and box end concatenation need the manual work correct the box wall, the box wall of packing carton and the unable scheduling problem of injecing of box end grafting degree of depth.)

1. The utility model provides a concatenation forming device of multistation packing carton, includes bottom plate (1), rotary platform (2), geneva mechanism (3), rotates motor (4), supporting mechanism (5), goes up even board (6), counterpoint push rod (7) and support cover (8), its characterized in that: the rotary platform (2) is positioned right above the bottom plate (1), the right end of the sheave mechanism (3) is arranged between the middle part of the bottom plate (1) and the middle part of the rotary platform (2), the left end of the sheave mechanism (3) is arranged on the top of the bottom plate (1) through a rotating motor (4), an annular sliding chute is arranged on the bottom of the rotary platform (2), sliding supports (11) are symmetrically arranged on the top of the bottom plate (1), the top of the sliding supports (11) is connected with the sliding chute arranged on the rotary platform (2) in a sliding fit manner, support mechanisms (5) are symmetrically arranged on the top of the rotary platform (2), a support sleeve (8) is positioned above the right end of the rotary platform (2), the top of the support sleeve (8) is connected with the lower end of an alignment push rod (7), the upper end of the contraposition push rod (7) is arranged on the bottom of the upper connecting plate (6); wherein:

the supporting mechanism (5) comprises a supporting platform (51), a connecting column (52), a circular protrusion (53), side connecting plates (54), a protective plate (55), a protective connecting frame (56), a protective push rod (57) and a sliding rod (58), wherein the supporting platform (51) is installed on the top of the outer end of the rotary platform (2) through the connecting column (52), the circular protrusion (53) is installed on the top of the supporting platform (51), the front side and the rear side of the supporting platform (51) are evenly distributed with the two side connecting plates (54), the two side connecting plates (54) are symmetrically installed on the left end and the right end of the supporting platform (51), and sliding grooves are formed in the outer side surfaces of the side connecting plates (54);

a protection plate (55) is uniformly distributed at the front end and the rear end of the support platform (51), the outer end of the protection connecting frame (56) is connected with the outer side surface of the protection plate (55), the protection connecting frame (56) is of a U-shaped structure, the middle part of the protection connecting frame (56) is arranged on the lower end surface of the middle part of the support platform (51) through a protection push rod (57), the left side and the right side of the outer end of the protection connecting frame (56) are connected with the inner end of a sliding rod (58), and the outer end of the sliding rod (58) is connected with a sliding groove in the side connecting plate (54) in a sliding fit mode.

2. The splicing and forming device for the multi-station packaging boxes according to claim 1, wherein: support cover (8) for the taper cylinder structure of handstand, the central axis of support cover (8) coincides with the axial lead that is located circular arch (53) on rotary platform (2) right-hand member supporting mechanism (5), be provided with the circular slot on the bottom of support cover (8), install briquetting (82) down through push down spring (81) in the circular slot of support cover (8), the middle part outside face symmetry of support cover (8) is provided with the square groove, the square groove on the support cover (8) is arranged perpendicularly to the lateral surface of support cover (8), install outer kicking block (84) through outer supporting spring (83) in the square groove of support cover (8).

3. The splicing and forming device of a multi-station packaging box according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: the upper end of the supporting sleeve (8) is provided with a positioning ring (85), the outer side surface of the upper end of the lower pressing block (82) is symmetrically provided with supporting grooves, a supporting block (87) is installed in the supporting groove of the lower pressing block (82) through a supporting spring (86), the supporting block (87) is located below the supporting sleeve (8), and the outer end of the supporting block (87) is of a trapezoidal structure.

4. The splicing and forming device for the multi-station packaging boxes according to claim 2, wherein: the outer side of the outer supporting block (84) is provided with a flexible arc-shaped pad, the inclination of the arc-shaped pad on the outer supporting block (84) is equal to that of the supporting sleeve (8), and the bottom of the outer end of the outer supporting block (84) is provided with an inclined groove.

5. The splicing and forming device of a multi-station packaging box as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein: the elasticity of the pressing spring (81) is larger than that of the outer supporting spring (83), and the elasticity of the outer supporting spring (83) is larger than that of the supporting spring (86).

6. The splicing and forming device for the multi-station packaging boxes according to claim 1, wherein: the protection plate (55) is of an arc-shaped structure, and the radian of the protection plate (55) is equal to that of the middle part of the support sleeve (8).

7. The splicing and forming device for the multi-station packaging boxes according to claim 1, wherein: circular arch (53) the outer end side on be provided with firm square groove, firm bullet frame (532) is all installed through firm spring (531) in every firm square groove of circular arch (53), the outer end of firm bullet frame (532) is the arc structure, the outer end upside of firm bullet frame (532) is provided with the arc chute, and constitutes between the firm bullet frame (532) and form annular structure.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of packaging article processing, in particular to a splicing and forming device for a multi-station packaging box.

Background

The packaging box is a box for packaging products as the name implies, the packaging box can be divided into a paper box, an iron box, a wood box, a corrugated packaging box and the like according to materials, the packaging box can ensure the safety of the products in transportation, and the packaged products also have the functions of publicizing the products and beautifying the products.

The great packing carton of current quantity is the packing carton of paper, wherein the packing carton quantity of toper tube-shape is the biggest, this type of packing carton comprises box bottom and box wall, the box wall and the box bottom of packing carton need counterpoint the concatenation, later bond the juncture of box wall and box bottom, the processing enterprise of packing carton a bit adopts artificial mode to process the production to the packing carton more, the box wall and the box bottom of packing carton generally splice it through the mode of artifical counterpoint, this kind is as follows to the problem that the production exists of packing carton:

1. when the packing boxes are spliced manually, a certain deviation occurs in alignment, so that the splicing of the box walls and the box bottom requires manual correction of the box walls;

2. the box wall and the box bottom grafting degree of depth of packing carton can't be injectd, and can't be continuous carry out follow-up operation after the packing carton concatenation is accomplished for the production efficiency of packing carton is lower.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the problems, the invention provides a splicing and forming device of a multi-station packing box, which comprises a bottom plate, a rotary platform, a sheave mechanism, a rotary motor, a supporting mechanism, an upper connecting plate, an aligning push rod and a supporting sleeve, wherein the rotary platform is positioned right above the bottom plate, the right end of the sheave mechanism is arranged between the middle part of the bottom plate and the middle part of the rotary platform, the left end of the sheave mechanism is arranged on the top part of the bottom plate through the rotary motor, an annular sliding chute is arranged on the bottom part of the rotary platform, sliding supports are symmetrically arranged on the top part of the bottom plate, the tops of the sliding supports are connected with the sliding chutes arranged on the rotary platform in a sliding fit manner, the supporting mechanism is symmetrically arranged on the top part of the rotary platform, the supporting sleeve is positioned above the right end of the rotary platform, the tops of the supporting sleeves are connected with the lower end of the aligning push rod, go up even board locking on free ends such as roof outside, at first place the annular box wall of packing carton on the lateral surface of supporting the cover, later place the box bottom of packing carton on supporting mechanism, the extension motion of counterpoint push rod can drive and support cover downstream, make the box wall joint of packing carton again on the box bottom of packing carton, later control counterpoint push rod carries out the shrink motion, the box wall of packing carton can be followed the separation of supporting sleeve and block on the box bottom, rotation through rotating the motor, geneva mechanism can drive the rotatory specific angle of rotary platform, the packing carton of concatenation outrigger can rotate other stations, so that follow-up bonding action to it.

The supporting mechanism comprises a supporting table, a connecting column, a circular bulge, side connecting plates, a protective plate, a protective connecting frame, a protective push rod and a sliding rod, wherein the supporting table is installed on the top of the outer end of the rotary platform through the connecting column;

a protection plate is distributed at the front end and the rear end of the supporting table respectively, the outer end of the protection connecting frame is connected with the outer side surface of the protection plate, the protection connecting frame is of a U-shaped structure, the middle part of the protection connecting frame is arranged on the middle lower end surface of the supporting table through a protection push rod, the left side and the right side of the outer end of the protection connecting frame are connected with the inner end of a sliding rod, the outer end of the sliding rod is connected with a sliding groove on the side connecting plate in a sliding fit mode, in the specific work process, the supporting mechanism can support the box bottom of the packaging box, the box bottom of the packaging box is firstly placed at the upper end of the circular bulge, when the alignment push rod is subjected to extension movement, after the splicing of the box wall and the box bottom of the packaging box is completed, the protection push rod is contracted, so that the protection plate can move upwards, thereby supporting, the extension protection push rod can make the protection plate move to the initial position, prevents that the protection plate from hindering the packing carton and carrying out operation processing.

As a preferred technical scheme of the invention, the support sleeve is of an inverted conical cylinder structure, the central axis of the support sleeve coincides with the axial lead of a circular bulge on a support mechanism at the right end of the rotary platform, a circular groove is arranged at the bottom of the support sleeve, a lower pressing block is arranged in the circular groove of the support sleeve through a lower pressing spring, a square groove is symmetrically arranged on the outer side surface of the middle part of the support sleeve, the square groove on the support sleeve is vertical to the outer side surface of the support sleeve, an outer supporting block is arranged in the square groove of the support sleeve through an outer supporting spring, when the support sleeve works in detail, a packing box can be attached to the outer side surface of the support sleeve, the outer supporting block can attach and support the middle part of the box wall of the packing box to prevent the box wall from displacement, the lower pressing block can firstly contact with the box bottom of the packing box when an alignment push rod is subjected to extension movement, the lower pressing block can correct the box bottom to prevent the box bottom, after the packing carton grafting finishes, the control supports the cover and returns initial position, and the briquetting can push down the box bottom under the restoring force effect of pushing down the spring, prevents that the box bottom from being taken up by the briquetting down.

As a preferred technical scheme of the invention, a positioning ring is arranged at the upper end of a support sleeve, support grooves are symmetrically arranged on the outer lateral surface of the upper end of a lower pressing block, a support block is arranged in each support groove of the lower pressing block through a support spring, the support block is positioned below the support sleeve, the outer end of the support block is of a trapezoidal structure, the positioning ring can limit the upper end of the box wall of the packaging box, the situation that the placement position of the box wall is excessively upward when the packaging box is plugged is prevented, so that the box wall cannot automatically fall off from the support sleeve, the support block can support the lower end of the initial placement position of the box wall, so that the box wall is prevented from falling off, the lower pressing block can contract when the lower pressing block is in contact with a circular protrusion, the support block can automatically contract when the lower pressing block contracts, and the packaging box can be plugged smoothly.

As a preferable technical scheme of the invention, the outer side surface of the outer supporting block is provided with a flexible arc-shaped pad, the inclination of the arc-shaped pad on the outer supporting block is equal to that of the supporting sleeve, the bottom of the outer end of the outer supporting block is provided with an inclined groove, the arc-shaped structure of the outer supporting block can increase the attaching effect of the outer supporting block and the box wall, and the inclined groove at the bottom of the outer supporting block can prevent the box wall from being incapable of being placed on the supporting sleeve.

As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the elastic force of the down pressing spring is greater than the elastic force of the outer supporting spring, and the elastic force of the outer supporting spring is greater than the elastic force of the supporting spring.

As a preferred technical scheme of the invention, the protection plate is of an arc-shaped structure, the radian of the protection plate is equal to that of the middle part of the support sleeve, and the arc-shaped structure of the protection plate can increase the attaching degree of the protection plate and the middle part of the box wall of the packing box.

As a preferred technical scheme, the side face of the outer end of each circular protrusion is provided with a stable square groove, each stable square groove of each circular protrusion is internally provided with a stable elastic frame through a stable spring, the outer end of each stable elastic frame is of an arc-shaped structure, an arc-shaped chute is arranged on the upper side of the outer end of each stable elastic frame, the stable elastic frames form an annular structure, the structure formed by the stable elastic frames can support the box bottom of the packaging box with a certain force, the placement accuracy of the box bottom is improved, and the inclined grooves of the stable elastic frames can be automatically contracted when the box bottom is placed.

The invention has the beneficial effects that:

the multi-station operation mode of the packing box is adopted to continuously process the packing box, the production efficiency is high, the box walls and the box bottom of the packing box can be respectively supported and locked, and the box walls and the box bottom are aligned and spliced, the splicing precision of the packing box is high, the effect is good, the spliced packing box can be protected during transportation, and the transmission stability of the packing box is improved;

the stable elastic frame on the circular bulge can externally support the bottom group of the packaging box with certain force, so that the placement accuracy of the box bottom is improved, the outer supporting block can be used for attaching and supporting the middle part of the wall of the packaging box, the box wall is prevented from displacing, and the supporting block can be used for supporting the lower end of the initial placement position of the box wall and preventing the box wall from falling off;

thirdly, the lower pressing block can be firstly contacted with the box bottom of the packing box when the alignment push rod performs extension movement, and the lower pressing block can correct the box bottom, so that the insertion precision of the device on the packing box is improved;

and fourthly, the protection plate can move upwards, so that the outer end of the middle part of the package is supported, and the package box is prevented from falling off when rotating.

Drawings

The invention is further illustrated with reference to the following figures and examples.

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

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the structure between the rotary platform, the geneva gear and the rotary motor of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the upper connecting plate, the alignment rod and the support sleeve;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the structure between the rotary platform and the support mechanism of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view between the rotary platform and the support mechanism of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a sectional view of the packing box.

Detailed Description

In order to make the technical means, the creation characteristics, the achievement purposes and the effects of the invention easy to understand, the invention is further explained below by combining the specific drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments in the present application may be combined with each other without conflict.

As shown in fig. 1 to 6, a splicing and forming device for multi-station packaging boxes comprises a bottom plate 1, a rotary platform 2, a sheave mechanism 3, a rotary motor 4, a support mechanism 5, an upper connecting plate 6, an alignment push rod 7 and a support sleeve 8, wherein the rotary platform 2 is positioned right above the bottom plate 1, the right end of the sheave mechanism 3 is arranged between the middle part of the bottom plate 1 and the middle part of the rotary platform 2, the left end of the sheave mechanism 3 is arranged on the top part of the bottom plate 1 through the rotary motor 4, an annular chute is arranged on the bottom part of the rotary platform 2, sliding supports 11 are symmetrically arranged on the top part of the bottom plate 1, the top part of the sliding support 11 is connected with the chute arranged on the rotary platform 2 in a sliding fit manner, the support mechanism 5 is symmetrically arranged on the top part of the rotary platform 2, the support sleeve 8 is positioned above the right end of the rotary platform 2, the top part of the support sleeve 8 is connected, the upper end of an alignment push rod 7 is installed at the bottom of an upper connecting plate 6, the upper connecting plate 6 is locked at the free ends of an external top plate and the like, firstly, the annular box wall of the packing box is placed on the outer side surface of a supporting sleeve 8, then, the box bottom of the packing box is placed on a supporting mechanism 5, the supporting sleeve 8 can be driven to move downwards by the extension movement of the alignment push rod 7, the box wall of the packing box is connected with the box bottom of the packing box in a clamping mode, then, the alignment push rod 7 is controlled to perform contraction movement, the box wall of the packing box can be separated from the supporting sleeve 8 and is connected with the box bottom, through the rotation of a rotating motor 4, a sheave mechanism 3 can drive a rotating platform 2 to rotate for a specific angle, and the packing box of a splicing outer support can rotate to other stations so.

The supporting mechanism 5 comprises a supporting platform 51, a connecting column 52, a circular bulge 53, side connecting plates 54, a protective plate 55, a protective connecting frame 56, a protective push rod 57 and a sliding rod 58, wherein the supporting platform 51 is installed on the top of the outer end of the rotary platform 2 through the connecting column 52, the circular bulge 53 is installed on the top of the supporting platform 51, the front side and the rear side of the supporting platform 51 are uniformly distributed with the two side connecting plates 54, the two side connecting plates 54 are symmetrically installed on the left end and the right end of the supporting platform 51, and the outer side surfaces of the side connecting plates 54 are provided with sliding chutes;

a protection plate 55 is distributed at the front end and the rear end of the supporting platform 51, the outer end of the protection connecting frame 56 is connected with the outer side surface of the protection plate 55, the protection connecting frame 56 is of a U-shaped structure, the middle part of the protection connecting frame 56 is installed on the middle lower end surface of the supporting platform 51 through a protection push rod 57, the left side and the right side of the outer end of the protection connecting frame 56 are connected with the inner end of a sliding rod 58, the outer end of the sliding rod 58 is connected with a sliding groove on the side connecting plate 54 in a sliding fit mode, in the specific work process, the supporting mechanism 5 can support the box bottom of the packing box, firstly, the box bottom of the packing box is placed at the upper end of the circular bulge 53, when the alignment push rod 7 is subjected to extension movement, after the box wall of the packing box is spliced with the box bottom, the protection push rod 57 is contracted, so that the protection plate 55 can, when the pack is rotated to another station, the extension guard push rod 57 enables the guard plate 55 to move to the initial position, preventing the guard plate 55 from obstructing the pack for handling.

Protection plate 55 be the arc structure, the radian of protection plate 55 equals with the radian at support cover 8 middle part, the arc structure of protection plate 55 can increase its laminating degree with packing carton box wall middle part.

Circular arch 53's outer end side on be provided with firm square groove, firm bullet frame 532 is all installed through firm spring 531 in every firm square groove of circular arch 53, the outer end of firm bullet frame 532 is the arc structure, the outer end upside of firm bullet frame 532 is provided with the arc chute, and form between the firm bullet frame 532 and form annular structure, the structure that firm bullet frame 532 is constituteed can carry out the outer support of certain dynamics to the packing carton box bottom, increase the precision of placing of box bottom, the inclined groove of firm bullet frame 532 can contract automatically when the box bottom is placed.

The supporting sleeve 8 is of an inverted cone-shaped cylinder structure, the central axis of the supporting sleeve 8 coincides with the axial lead of a circular protrusion 53 positioned on a supporting mechanism 5 at the right end of the rotary platform 2, a circular groove is arranged at the bottom of the supporting sleeve 8, a lower pressing block 82 is arranged in the circular groove of the supporting sleeve 8 through a lower pressing spring 81, a square groove is symmetrically arranged on the outer side surface of the middle part of the supporting sleeve 8, the square groove on the supporting sleeve 8 is perpendicular to the outer side surface of the supporting sleeve 8, an outer supporting block 84 is arranged in the square groove of the supporting sleeve 8 through an outer supporting spring 83, when the rotary platform works in detail, a packaging box can be attached to the outer side surface of the supporting sleeve 8, the outer supporting block 84 can attach and support the middle part of the box wall of the packaging box to prevent the box wall from displacement, the lower pressing block 82 can firstly contact with the box bottom of the packaging box when the aligning push rod 7 is extended, and, prevent that the deformation of box bottom from causing box wall and the unable grafting of box bottom, after the packing carton grafting finishes, control support cover 8 returns initial position, pushes down the briquetting 82 and can push down the box bottom under the restoring force effect of pushing down spring 81, prevents that the box bottom from being taken up by pushing down briquetting 82.

Support cover 8's upper end be provided with holding ring 85, the symmetry is provided with the support groove on the upper end lateral surface of briquetting 82 down, install bearing piece 87 through bearing spring 86 in the support groove of briquetting 82 down, bearing piece 87 is located the below of supporting cover 8, and the outer end of bearing piece 87 is the trapezium structure, holding ring 85 can carry on spacingly to the upper end of packing carton box wall, the position of placing of box wall when preventing the packing carton grafting is excessive upwards, lead to it can't come off from supporting cover 8 automatically, bearing piece 87 can carry out the bearing to the lower extreme of the initial position of placing of box wall, prevent that the box wall from taking place to drop, briquetting 82 can contract under when briquetting 82 and circular protruding 53 contact, can bearing piece 87 and the circular slot that supports cover 8 contact can carry out automatic shrink when briquetting 82 contracts down, make the smooth and easy grafting that the packing carton can carry out.

The lateral surface of outer brace 84 be provided with flexible arc pad, the slope of arc pad equals with the slope that supports cover 8 on outer brace 84, outer end bottom of outer brace 84 is provided with the inclined groove, the arc structure of outer brace 84 can increase its and the laminating effect of box wall, the inclined groove of outer brace 84 bottom can prevent that the box wall can't be placed on supporting cover 8.

The elastic force of the pressing spring 81 is greater than that of the outer supporting spring 83, and the elastic force of the outer supporting spring 83 is greater than that of the supporting spring 86.

During operation, firstly, the bottom of the packaging box is placed on the outer side surface of the circular protrusion 53, the structure formed by the stable bullet frame 532 can support the bottom of the packaging box with a certain force, the placement accuracy of the bottom of the packaging box is improved, after the bottom of the packaging box is placed, the wall of the packaging box is sleeved on the outer side surface of the supporting sleeve 8, the outer supporting block 84 can attach and support the middle part of the wall of the packaging box, the displacement of the wall of the packaging box is prevented, the supporting block 87 can support the lower end of the initial placement position of the wall of the packaging box, the wall of the packaging box is prevented from falling off, and therefore the placement action of the wall of the packaging box and the bottom of;

when the packing box needs to be aligned and spliced, the extending motion of the alignment push rod 7 can drive the supporting sleeve 8 to move downwards, the lower pressing block 82 can be firstly contacted with the box bottom of the packing box when the alignment push rod 7 extends, the lower pressing block 82 can correct the box bottom, at the moment, the supporting block 87 is contacted with the circular groove of the supporting sleeve 8 to automatically contract, so that the packing box can be smoothly spliced, the positioning ring 85 can position the upper end of the box wall, so that the box wall and the box bottom of the packing box can be spliced in place, after the splicing of the packing box is completed, the protective push rod 57 is contracted, so that the protective plate 55 can move upwards, thereby supporting the outer end in the middle of the packing box, preventing the packing box from falling off when rotating, then controlling the alignment push rod 7 to contract, and the lower pressing block 82 can press the box bottom under the restoring force of the lower pressing spring 81, the bottom of the box is prevented from being brought up by the pressing block 82, the sheave mechanism 3 can drive the rotary platform 2 to rotate by a specific angle through the rotation of the rotary motor 4, and the packaging box which is externally supported by splicing can rotate to other stations so as to be convenient for subsequent bonding action.

The multi-station operation mode of the packing box is adopted to continuously process the packing box, the production efficiency is high, the box wall and the box bottom of the packing box can be respectively supported and locked, and the box wall and the box bottom are in contraposition splicing, the splicing precision of the packing box is high, the effect is good, the spliced packing box can be protected during transportation, and the transmission stability of the packing box 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 given by way of illustration of the principles of the present invention, and that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.