阅读说明：本技术 一种用于食用油生产的油水分离装置 (A oil-water separator for edible oil production ) 是由 曾春鸣 于 2021-08-21 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种用于食用油生产的油水分离装置,包括过滤分离机构、分离主体和排放装置,所述分离主体固定连接在过滤分离机构的底端,所述排放装置固定安装在过滤分离机构的一侧,所述过滤分离机构中安装有过滤主体、输送框和过滤板,所述输送框支撑堆叠放置在过滤主体的上端中部,且所述输送框设有三个,所述过滤板固定安装在输送框的内部,且三个所述输送框中的过滤板孔径规格各不相同。本发明使用的过程中可以将油水精准的分离,分离效果好。(The invention discloses an oil-water separation device for edible oil production, which comprises a filtering and separating mechanism, a separating main body and a discharging device, wherein the separating main body is fixedly connected to the bottom end of the filtering and separating mechanism, the discharging device is fixedly arranged on one side of the filtering and separating mechanism, the filtering main body, a conveying frame and filter plates are arranged in the filtering and separating mechanism, the conveying frame supports, is stacked and placed in the middle of the upper end of the filtering main body, three conveying frames are arranged, the filter plates are fixedly arranged in the conveying frames, and the pore sizes of the filter plates in the three conveying frames are different from each other. The oil-water separator can accurately separate oil from water in the using process, and has a good separation effect.)

1. The utility model provides an oil-water separator for edible oil production, includes filtering separation mechanism (1), separation main part (2) and discharging equipment (3), its characterized in that: separation main part (2) fixed connection is in the bottom of filtering separation mechanism (1), discharging equipment (3) fixed mounting is in one side of filtering separation mechanism (1), install filtering separation mechanism (1) and filter main part (4), carry frame (5) and filter (6), carry frame (5) to support to pile up and place the upper end middle part at filtering separation mechanism (4), just carry frame (5) to be equipped with threely, filter (6) fixed mounting is in the inside of carrying frame (5), and three filter (6) aperture specification diverse in carrying frame (5).

2. The oil-water separation device for edible oil production according to claim 1, wherein: install first backup pad (11) in filtering main part (4), the upper end middle part of first backup pad (11) is run through and has been seted up transport discharge groove (10), bottom middle part fixedly connected with of first backup pad (11) carries frame (14), the first side mounting panel of both sides fixedly connected with (8) of first backup pad (11), the interior terminal surface of first side mounting panel (8) rotates through the pivot and installs first conveyer belt (9), the first motor of the outside fixedly connected with of one end (7) of first side mounting panel (8), just first motor (7) and the pivot fixed connection of first conveyer belt (9) one end internally mounted, even fixed mounting has first U type to connect support piece (18) between the bottom of first side mounting panel (8) and first backup pad (11), the middle part both sides of first side mounting panel (8) have the electronic hydraulic push rod of second through fix the support frame (15) fixed mounting has (17) And the front ends of the second electric hydraulic push rod (17) and the first electric hydraulic push rod (16) are respectively and fixedly provided with a first telescopic support plate (12) and a second telescopic support plate (13).

3. The oil-water separation device for edible oil production according to claim 2, wherein: install separation frame (20) in separation main part (2), toper (mixing) shaft (19) is installed in the inside rotation of separation frame (20), the bottom middle part fixed mounting of separation frame (20) has second motor (24), just the upper end of second motor (24) and the bottom middle part fixed connection of toper (mixing) shaft (19), the side upper portion slidable mounting of separation frame (20) has lift regulating plate (23), the fixed run-through in middle part of lift regulating plate (23) installs delivery pipe (22), the both sides screw thread that just is located lift regulating plate (23) on separation frame (20) rotates and installs fastening screw post (21), the front end of fastening screw post (21) and the outer wall extrusion contact of lift regulating plate (23).

4. The oil-water separation device for edible oil production according to claim 3, wherein: the upper end of separation frame (20) and the bottom fixed connection who connects transport frame (14), just the inside and the transport groove (10) intercommunication of separation frame (20), discharge pipe (22) are the slope setting, and are located the inside discharge pipe (22) one end height of separation frame (20) is higher.

5. The oil-water separation device for edible oil production according to claim 4, wherein: install in discharging equipment (3) and install second backup pad (29), support piece (27) and second backup pad (29) fixed connection are connected through the second U type in the both sides fixed mounting's of second backup pad (29) first side mounting board (8) bottom, the equal fixed mounting in both sides one end of second backup pad (29) has third motor (25), second conveyer belt (26) are installed through third motor (25) drive rotation in the inboard of second backup pad (29), frame (28) are collected to the bottom fixedly connected with of second backup pad (29), discharge groove (30) have been seted up to the both sides of collecting frame (28).

6. The oil-water separation device for edible oil production according to claim 5, wherein: the upper end of first flexible backup pad (12) and the flexible backup pad of second (13) is all fixed to be inlayed and is had the rubber gasket, just first flexible backup pad (12) and lift adjusting plate (23) are located the both ends bottom of carrying frame (5), just the height that highly is greater than first flexible backup pad (12) of the flexible backup pad of second (13), first flexible backup pad (12) are pegged graft in the transport frame (5) bottom that is located the bottom, the flexible backup pad of second (13) are pegged graft in the bottom of the transport frame (5) that is located the centre.

7. The oil-water separation device for edible oil production according to claim 6, wherein: the collecting device is characterized in that two sides of the bottom end of the collecting frame (28) are arranged in a downward inclined mode, inclined material discharging guide frames (33) are fixedly connected to two sides of the collecting frame (28) respectively, the inclined material discharging guide frames (33) are arranged in a downward inclined mode, partition plates (31) are inserted into the inclined material discharging guide frames (33) in a sliding mode, and lifting handles (32) are symmetrically and fixedly mounted at the upper ends of the partition plates (31).

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of oil-water separation, in particular to an oil-water separation device for edible oil production.

Background

The oil liquid and the clear water are mixed together in the production and processing process of the edible oil, so that the oil and the water in the edible oil need to be separated, and more residues are contained in the production and processing process of the edible oil, so that the edible oil needs to be removed together in the production and processing process.

According to chinese patent No. CN202022426745.8 oil water separator convenient to filter, the utility model discloses an oil water separator convenient to filter, including oil water separator body, cartridge filter, unloading bucket, air pump, air nozzle and driving motor, the inside top of oil water separator body is rotated and is connected with the cartridge filter, and the left side draw-in groove of cartridge filter is connected with the unloading bucket, the lower extreme of unloading bucket is fixed with the plastics blow off pipe, and the lower extreme draw-in groove of plastics blow off pipe is connected with the collecting vessel, the downside of collecting vessel closely laminates and has the removal base, and the outside swing joint of removal base has the limiting plate, the welding of the inside below of oil water separator body has the mount, the trachea is installed to the downside of air pump. This oil-water separator convenient to it is filterable can effectively avoid winding impurity on the filtering mechanism, can effectively clear up, and conveniently places and take the collecting vessel, can support the pipeline, avoids the filth drippage in the pipeline during dismouting pipeline to can effectively scrape the grease to the greasy dirt.

The invention relates to the technical field of machine tool machining, in particular to an oil-water separation device for a vertical machining center and a using method thereof according to a Chinese patent number CN201911147309.2, wherein the oil-water separation device comprises a machine tool body, the machine tool body comprises a machine base, an upright post, a moving stroke and a machining table, the bottom of the machine base of the machine tool is hollow, the oil-water separation device is arranged below the machine base, the oil-water separation device comprises a fixed frame and a protective shell, the fixed frame is fixedly connected with the machine base, and the protective shell is arranged in the fixed frame; the separation module is arranged in the protective shell and comprises a waste liquid collecting box, and the waste liquid collecting box is divided into three parts, namely a grading part, a precipitation part and a separation part. The technical problems to be solved by the invention are as follows: provided is an oil-water separator for a vertical machining center, which can effectively remove grease in an oil-containing waste liquid and can recycle a coolant. The invention also provides a use method of the oil-water separation device for the vertical machining center

However, the residue inside the separation process of the oil-water separation device for edible oil production and processing in the prior art cannot be removed together in the oil-water separation process, so that the oil-water separation requirement and speed can be greatly influenced, and the water body is discharged together when oil is extracted and discharged due to incomplete separation often occurring in the oil-water separation process, so that the oil-water separation device for edible oil production is needed to solve the problem.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide an oil-water separation device for edible oil production, which aims to solve the problems in the background technology.

In order to achieve the purpose, the invention provides the following technical scheme: the utility model provides an oil-water separator for edible oil production, includes filtering separation mechanism, separation main part and discharging equipment, separation main part fixed connection is in filtering separation mechanism's bottom, discharging equipment fixed mounting is in one side of filtering separation mechanism, install among the filtering separation mechanism and filter the main part, carry frame to support and pile up and place at the upper end middle part of filtering the main part, just carry the frame to be equipped with threely, filter fixed mounting is in the inside of carrying the frame, and three carry the filter plate aperture specification diverse in the frame.

Preferably, install first backup pad in the filter main part, the upper end middle part of first backup pad is run through and has been seted up transport discharge tank, the frame is carried in the bottom middle part fixedly connected with connection of first backup pad, the first side mounting panel of both sides fixedly connected with of first backup pad, the interior terminal surface of first side mounting panel rotates through the pivot and installs first conveyer belt, the first motor of the outside fixedly connected with of one end of first side mounting panel, just first motor and the pivot fixed connection of first conveyer belt one end internally mounted, even fixed mounting has first U type connection support piece between the bottom of first side mounting panel and the first backup pad, there are electronic hydraulic push rod of second and first electronic hydraulic push rod in the middle part both sides of first side mounting panel through fixed support frame fixed mounting, the front end of electronic hydraulic push rod of second and first electronic hydraulic push rod respectively fixed mounting have first flexible backup pad and the flexible support of second to support And (3) a plate.

Preferably, install the separation frame in the separation main part, the toper (mixing) shaft is installed in the internal rotation of separation frame, the bottom middle part fixed mounting of separation frame has the second motor, just the upper end of second motor and the bottom middle part fixed connection of toper (mixing) shaft, the side upper portion slidable mounting of separation frame has the lift adjustment board, the fixed run-through in middle part of lift adjustment board installs the delivery pipe, the both sides screw thread that just is located the lift adjustment board on the separation frame rotates and installs the fastening screw post, the front end of fastening screw post and the outer wall extrusion contact of lift adjustment board.

Preferably, the upper end of separation frame and the bottom fixed connection who connects the transport frame, just the inside and the transport groove intercommunication of separation frame, the delivery pipe is the slope setting, and is located the inside delivery pipe one end height of separation frame is higher.

Preferably, install in the discharging equipment and install the second backup pad, support piece and second backup pad fixed connection are connected through second U type in the both sides fixed mounting's of second backup pad first side mounting board bottom, the equal fixed mounting in both sides one end of second backup pad has the third motor, the inboard of second backup pad is rotated through the drive of third motor and is installed the second conveyer belt, the bottom fixedly connected with of second backup pad collects the frame, collect the both sides of frame and seted up the discharge groove.

Preferably, the upper ends of the first telescopic supporting plate and the second telescopic supporting plate are fixedly inlaid with rubber gaskets, the first telescopic supporting plate and the lifting adjusting plate are located at the bottoms of the two ends of the conveying frame, the height of the second telescopic supporting plate is larger than that of the first telescopic supporting plate, the first telescopic supporting plate is inserted into the bottom of the conveying frame located at the bottom end, and the second telescopic supporting plate is inserted into the bottom of the conveying frame located in the middle.

Preferably, both sides of the bottom end of the collecting frame are arranged in a downward inclined mode, the two sides of the collecting frame are fixedly connected with inclined material discharging and guiding frames, the inclined material discharging and guiding frames are arranged in an inclined mode, partition plates are inserted into the inclined material discharging and guiding frames in a sliding mode, and lifting handles are symmetrically and fixedly mounted at the upper ends of the partition plates.

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

can carry out the preliminary treatment with the impurity residue in the oil water mixture through filtering separation mechanism in this device use, the automatic removal of impurity residue that will filter is carried to discharging equipment's top and is carried the impurity residue of carrying frame and filter interception to the inside of collecting the frame, then discharges through the blow-down tank, oil water mixture after filtering alright carry out the layering and the separation processing of profit after the stirring centrifugation with the inside that enters into to the separation main part, the in-process that this device used can be handled the impurity residue in the oil water then carries out accurate thorough oil water separation.

Drawings

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

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the filtering and separating mechanism of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the filter body structure of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a separation body structure according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the discharge device of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a collection frame according to the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a second embodiment of a collecting frame according to the present invention.

In the figure: 1-filtering and separating mechanism, 2-separating body, 3-discharging device, 4-filtering body, 5-conveying frame, 6-filtering plate, 7-first motor, 8-first side mounting plate, 9-first conveying belt, 10-conveying and discharging groove, 11-first supporting plate, 12-first telescopic supporting plate, 13-second telescopic supporting plate, 14-connecting and conveying frame, 15-fixed supporting frame, 16-first electric hydraulic push rod, 17-second electric hydraulic push rod, 18-first U-shaped connecting and supporting piece, 19-conical stirring shaft, 20-separating frame, 21-fastening threaded column, 22-discharging pipe, 23-lifting and adjusting plate, 24-second motor, 25-third motor, 26-second conveying belt, 27-a second U-shaped connecting supporting piece, 28-a collecting frame, 29-a second supporting plate, 30-a discharge groove, 31-a baffle plate, 32-a lifting handle and 33-an inclined discharging guide frame.

Detailed Description

In order to make the technical solutions better understood by those skilled in the art, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only partial embodiments of the present application, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," and the like in the description and claims of this application and in the drawings described above are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It should be understood that the data so used may be interchanged under appropriate circumstances such that embodiments of the application described herein may be used. Furthermore, the terms "comprises," "comprising," and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not necessarily limited to those steps or elements expressly listed, but may include other steps or elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

The invention is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Example 1

Referring to fig. 1-2, an embodiment of the present invention is shown: the utility model provides an oil-water separator for edible oil production, including filtering separation mechanism 1, separation main part 2 and discharging equipment 3, 2 fixed connection in the bottom that filters separation mechanism 1 of separation main part, 3 fixed mounting in one side that filters separation mechanism 1 of discharging equipment, install in the filtering separation mechanism 1 and filter main part 4, carry frame 5 and filter 6, carry frame 5 to support to pile up and place the upper end middle part at filtering separation main part 4, and carry frame 5 to be equipped with threely, 6 fixed mounting of filter are in the inside of carrying frame 5, and the 6 aperture specification diverse of filter in the three transport frame 5.

Referring to fig. 3, a first supporting plate 11 is installed in the filtering main body 4, a conveying and discharging groove 10 is formed in the middle of the upper end of the first supporting plate 11 in a penetrating manner, a conveying frame 14 is fixedly connected to the middle of the bottom end of the first supporting plate 11, first side mounting plates 8 are fixedly connected to two sides of the first supporting plate 11, a first conveying belt 9 is installed on the inner end face of each first side mounting plate 8 in a rotating manner through a rotating shaft, a first motor 7 is fixedly connected to the outside of one end of each first side mounting plate 8, the first motor 7 is fixedly connected to the rotating shaft internally installed at one end of the first conveying belt 9, first U-shaped connecting and supporting members 18 are uniformly and fixedly installed between the bottom end of each first side mounting plate 8 and the first supporting plate 11, second electric hydraulic push rods 17 and first electric hydraulic push rods 16 are fixedly installed on two sides of the middle of each first side mounting plate 8 through a fixing support frame 15, and first telescopic supporting plates 12 and first electric hydraulic push rods 16 are respectively fixedly installed at the front ends of the second electric hydraulic push rods 17 and the first electric hydraulic push rods 16 The second telescopic supporting plate 13 controls the first telescopic supporting plate 12 and the second telescopic supporting plate 13 to extend and retract alternately through the second electric hydraulic push rod 17 and the first electric hydraulic push rod 16, so that one of the three conveying frames 5 and the filter plates 6 falls on the first conveying belt 9 and is conveyed to the second conveying belt 26.

Referring to fig. 4, a separation frame 20 is installed in the separation body 2, a conical stirring shaft 19 is rotatably installed inside the separation frame 20, a second motor 24 is fixedly installed in the middle of the bottom end of the separation frame 20, the upper end of the second motor 24 is fixedly connected with the middle of the bottom end of the conical stirring shaft 19, a lifting adjusting plate 23 is slidably installed on the upper portion of the side end of the separation frame 20, a discharge pipe 22 is fixedly installed in the middle of the lifting adjusting plate 23 in a penetrating manner, fastening threaded columns 21 are rotatably installed on the separation frame 20 and located on the two sides of the lifting adjusting plate 23 through threads, the front ends of the fastening threaded columns 21 are in pressing contact with the outer wall of the lifting adjusting plate 23, an oil-water mixed liquid enters the separation frame 20 through a connecting and conveying frame 14, the second motor 24 is started to drive the conical stirring shaft 19 to rotate so that the oil-water mixed liquid is stirred and separated inside the separation frame 20, so that oil and water are sufficiently separated, and an oil layer floats on the water layer after standing, at this time, the positions of the lifting adjusting plate 23 and the discharge pipe 22 are adjusted and moved by screwing the fastening screw post 21, so that the discharge pipe 22 is inserted between the oil layer and the water layer, because the discharge pipe 22 is arranged in an inclined manner and the end positioned outside is lower, the oil layer can be conveyed and discharged through the discharge pipe 22, the using height and the position of the discharge pipe 22 can be adjusted by the lifting adjusting plate 23 sliding up and down on the separation frame 20 through the discharge pipe 22, so that the whole discharge pipe 22 can be inserted into the oil layer, the using position of the discharge pipe 22 can be adjusted and controlled, the discharge pipe 22 can be accurately inserted between the oil layer and the water layer, the discharge pipe 22 can discharge the whole oil layer, and the water and liquid content in the discharge liquid is small.

Referring to fig. 4, the upper end of the separation frame 20 is fixedly connected to the bottom end of the connection transportation frame 14, the interior of the separation frame 20 is communicated with the transportation discharge slot 10, the discharge pipe 22 is disposed in an inclined manner, and the height of one end of the discharge pipe 22 located inside the separation frame 20 is higher, so that the oil layer can be quickly and accurately drained through the discharge pipe 22.

Referring to fig. 5-6, a second supporting plate 29 is installed in the discharging device 3, the bottom end of the first side mounting plate 8 fixedly installed at both sides of the second supporting plate 29 is fixedly connected with the second supporting plate 29 through a second U-shaped connecting and supporting member 27, a third motor 25 is fixedly installed at both ends of the second supporting plate 29, a second conveying belt 26 is rotatably installed at the inner side of the second supporting plate 29 through the third motor 25, a collecting frame 28 is fixedly connected to the bottom end of the second supporting plate 29, and discharging grooves 30 are formed at both sides of the collecting frame 28.

Referring to fig. 1 to 6, rubber gaskets are fixedly embedded at the upper ends of the first telescopic supporting plate 12 and the second telescopic supporting plate 13, the first telescopic supporting plate 12 and the lifting adjusting plate 23 are located at the bottoms of the two ends of the conveying frame 5, the height of the second telescopic supporting plate 13 is greater than that of the first telescopic supporting plate 12, the first telescopic supporting plate 12 is inserted into the bottom of the conveying frame 5 located at the bottom end, and the second telescopic supporting plate 13 is inserted into the bottom of the conveying frame 5 located in the middle.

In the embodiment, the impurity residue in the oil-water mixture can be pretreated by the filtering and separating mechanism 1, the filtered impurity residue is automatically moved and conveyed to the upper part of the discharging device 3 to convey the impurity residue intercepted by the conveying frame 5 and the filter plate 6 to the inside of the collecting frame 28, then the impurity residue is discharged through the discharging groove 30, the filtered oil-water mixture can enter the inside of the separating body 2 to be subjected to oil-water layering and separating treatment after stirring and centrifuging, the impurity residue in the oil-water can be treated and then subjected to accurate and thorough oil-water separation in the using process of the device, the using height and the using position of the discharging pipe 22 can be adjusted by the lifting and sliding of the discharging pipe 22 on the separating frame 20 by the lifting and adjusting plate 23, so that the whole discharging pipe 22 can be inserted into the oil layer, and the using position of the discharging pipe 22 can be adjusted and controlled, so that the drain pipe 22 is accurately inserted between the oil layer and the water layer, thereby allowing the drain pipe 22 to drain the oil layer entirely and the drain liquid to have a small content of the aqueous component.

Example 2

On the basis of embodiment 1, as shown in fig. 7, both sides of the bottom end of the collecting frame 28 are arranged to be inclined downward, both sides of the collecting frame 28 are fixedly connected with inclined discharging guide frames 33, the inclined discharging guide frames 33 are arranged to be inclined downward, partition plates 31 are inserted into the inclined discharging guide frames 33 in a sliding manner, and lifting handles 32 are symmetrically and fixedly mounted at the upper ends of the partition plates 31.

In the embodiment, the collecting frame 28 is arranged obliquely, and the oblique discharging guide frames 33 on both sides are arranged obliquely, so that the impurities and the residues falling in the collecting frame 28 can slide into the oblique discharging guide frames 33 toward both sides of the collecting frame 28, and the impurities and the residues can slide out of the oblique discharging guide frames 33 sufficiently from the inside of the collecting frame 28 after the baffle plate 31 is pulled out by the lifting handle 32.

The working principle is as follows: the oil-water mixed liquid can intercept and filter internal impurities and residue components after being intercepted by the three layers of filter plates 6, one of the three conveying frames 5 and the filter plates 6 can fall on the first conveying belt 9 to be conveyed to the second conveying belt 26 by alternately controlling the extension of the first telescopic supporting plate 12 and the second telescopic supporting plate 13 through the second electric hydraulic push rod 17 and the first electric hydraulic push rod 16, then the three conveying frames are moved to the position right above the second supporting plate 29, so that the impurities and the residues intercepted on the filter plates 6 can be discharged to the inside of the collecting frame 28 through the second supporting plate 29, finally the impurities and the residues can be discharged from the device through the discharge groove 30, the collecting frame 28 is obliquely arranged, and the impurities and the residues falling in the collecting frame 28 can slide to the two sides of the collecting frame 28 to enter the oblique discharge guide frame 33 after the oblique guide frames 33 at the two sides are obliquely arranged, impurities and residues in the oil-water mixed solution enter the separation frame 20 through the connecting and conveying frame 14 after being intercepted and filtered, the second motor 24 is started to drive the conical stirring shaft 19 to rotate so that the oil-water mixed solution is stirred and separated in the separation frame 20, so that oil and water are sufficiently separated, an oil layer floats on a water layer after standing, the positions of the lifting adjusting plate 23 and the discharge pipe 22 are adjusted and moved through screwing the fastening threaded column 21, the discharge pipe 22 is inserted between the oil layer and the water layer, the oil layer is conveyed and discharged through the discharge pipe 22 because the discharge pipe 22 is obliquely arranged and the end positioned at the outer part is lower, the use height and the position of the discharge pipe 22 can be adjusted through the lifting adjusting plate 23 by the discharge pipe 22 through the lifting adjusting plate 23 in the separation frame 20 through lifting and sliding, thereby can be with the inside of the whole insertion to the oil reservoir of discharge pipe 22 to make the position of use of discharge pipe 22 adjustable control, make the accurate insertion of discharge pipe 22 to between oil reservoir and the water layer, thereby make discharge pipe 22 can be with the whole discharge of oil reservoir, and the aqueous humor composition contains the volume fewly in the discharge liquid, and the in-process that this device used can be with the accurate separation of profit, and the separation is effectual.

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.