阅读说明：本技术 O型圈翻转移料装置以及包括其的o型圈装配系统 (O-shaped ring overturning and material transferring device and O-shaped ring assembling system comprising same ) 是由 黄江华 赵科云 熊厦梁 彭践 于 2020-05-13 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及O型圈翻转移料装置以及包括其的O型圈装配系统。所述O型圈翻转移料装置用于设置在O型圈装配系统中并位于其中的O型圈进料装置的下游,其包括：具有第一槽的本体,第一槽构造成用于接收O型圈,使得O型圈基本上竖直地容纳于其中并具有暴露于第一槽之外的第一部分和位于第一槽之内的第二部分；针形件,其设置在本体上并与第一槽相邻,用以当O型圈装配系统中的O型圈拾取装置在行进期间将至少第一部分或其一部分套装于其上时,使得第二部分脱离第一槽并套在针形件上,从而使得O型圈基本上处于水平状态,直到随着O型圈拾取装置继续行进而使得O型圈脱离针形件并完全套装于O型圈拾取装置上。本发明操作简单、高效并能有效降低成本。(The invention relates to an O-shaped ring overturning and transferring device and an O-shaped ring assembling system comprising the same. The O-ring overturning and transferring device is used for being arranged in an O-ring assembling system and located at the downstream of an O-ring feeding device, and comprises: a body having a first groove configured to receive an O-ring such that the O-ring is substantially vertically received therein and has a first portion exposed outside of the first groove and a second portion located inside of the first groove; a needle disposed on the body adjacent the first groove for disengaging the second portion from the first groove and over the needle when the O-ring pickup in the O-ring assembly system is installed with at least the first portion or a portion thereof over the first groove during travel, thereby placing the O-ring substantially horizontal until the O-ring is disengaged from the needle and completely installed over the O-ring pickup as the O-ring pickup continues to travel. The invention has simple operation and high efficiency and can effectively reduce the cost.)

1. An O-ring upending and material-transferring device (10) for placement in an O-ring assembly system (100) and downstream of an O-ring feeding device (20) therein, comprising:

a body (1) having a first groove (11), the first groove (11) being configured for receiving an O-ring (2) such that the O-ring (2) is substantially vertically received therein and has a first portion (2a) exposed outside the first groove (11) and a second portion (2b) located inside the first groove (11); and

-a thorn (3) arranged on said body (1) adjacent to said first groove (11) for enabling said second part (2b) to be detached from said first groove (11) and to be slipped over said thorn (3) when an O-ring pick-up device (30) in said O-ring fitting system (100) is running with at least said first part (2a) or a part thereof, thereby enabling said O-ring to be substantially horizontal, until said O-ring is detached from said thorn (3) and completely slipped over said O-ring pick-up device (30) as said O-ring pick-up device (30) continues to run.

2. O-ring upending device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the body (1) further has a second groove (12) arranged adjacent to the first groove (11), the thorn (3) being provided in the second groove (12) and having an overhang (3a) exposed outside the second groove (12) and an inner portion (3b) located inside the second groove (12), at least a part of the second portion (2b) being sleeved on the overhang (3a) in the horizontal state.

3. O-ring upending and transferring device (10) according to claim 2, wherein the thorn (3) is configured with at least two overhangs spaced apart from each other, and the maximum distance (L) between the respective free ends of the overhangs (3a)₁) Is smaller than the inner diameter of the O-shaped ring.

4. O-ring upending and transferring device (10) according to claim 3, wherein the thorn (3) is formed in one piece and the extensions (3a) have a distance (L) between the free ends of two extensions (3a) located outermost on both sides of the extensions (3a), respectively₁) Not more than a distance (L) between respective ends of the interior portion (3b) corresponding respectively to the two overhanging portions (3a)₂)。

5. O-ring turn-over transfer device (10) according to claim 2, wherein the width of the second groove (12) is 2-3 times the outer diameter of the thorn (3) and/or the separation distance between the second groove (12) and the first groove (11) is 0.1-0.4 mm.

6. The O-ring upending and transferring device (10) according to claim 2, wherein the first groove (11) and the second groove (12) are arranged in parallel and separated by a plate like member (13).

7. The O-ring upending and transferring device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the width of the first groove (11) is 1.5-2 times the outer diameter of the O-ring and/or the first part (2a) is larger than the second part (2 b).

8. The O-ring inversion transfer device (10) according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein the O-ring inversion transfer device (10) further comprises:

a position adjustment module (5) connected to the body (1) and arranged for adjusting the position of the body (1) relative to the O-ring feeding device (20) and/or the O-ring picking device (30); and/or

A position detection module (6) arranged for detecting whether the O-ring is currently received in position in the first groove (11).

9. The O-ring upending and transferring device (10) according to claim 8, wherein the position detection module (6) comprises a correlation sensor and the side of the first groove (11) is provided with an opening (14), the correlation sensor being arranged to pass the signal between its emitting end (6a) and receiving end (6b) through the opening (14) for detecting whether the O-ring is currently received in place in the first groove (11) by determining whether the signal is blocked.

10. An O-ring assembly system (100), comprising:

one or more O-ring inversion transfer devices (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 9;

the O-ring feeding device (40) is used for receiving the O-rings to be assembled and conveying the O-rings outwards one by one;

an O-ring feeding device (20) arranged between the O-ring feeding device (40) and the O-ring overturning and transferring device (10) and used for continuously feeding the O-rings (2) conveyed out of the O-ring feeding device (40) into the first groove (11) of the O-ring overturning and transferring device (10); and

one or more O-ring pick-up devices (30) are arranged to pick up the O-rings from the first groove (11) of the O-ring overturning and material transferring device (10) and then assemble the picked-up O-rings on the target positions of the objects to be assembled (60) after the O-rings are advanced to the preset positions.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of O-shaped ring assembly, in particular to an O-shaped ring overturning and material transferring device and an O-shaped ring assembly system comprising the same.

Background

O-rings have found widespread use, for example, in mounting in electromechanical devices, equipment or systems, etc. to provide functions such as sealing, dampening, cushioning, etc. Because the O-shaped ring is not only suitable for static application occasions, but also can be applied to dynamic application occasions with relative motion between parts, the application range is quite wide, and the practicability is very strong. However, the prior art has some defects or shortcomings in the aspects of assembly, use, maintenance and the like of the O-ring, and can be further improved, for example, in many current applications, the installation of the O-ring is manually completed manually or complicated mechanical equipment is required, which causes problems of low assembly efficiency, unreliable installation quality, long time consumption, increased manufacturing cost and the like.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, the present invention provides an O-ring inverting and transferring device and an O-ring assembling system including the same, which may solve or at least alleviate one or more of the above problems and other problems in the prior art.

First, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an O-ring inversion transfer device for placement in an O-ring assembly system and downstream of an O-ring feed device therein, the O-ring inversion transfer device comprising:

a body having a first groove configured to receive an O-ring such that the O-ring is received substantially vertically therein and has a first portion exposed outside of the first groove and a second portion located inside of the first groove; and

a needle disposed on the body adjacent the first groove for disengaging the second portion from the first groove and over the needle when an O-ring pickup in the O-ring assembly system is installed with at least the first portion or a portion thereof over the first groove during travel, thereby placing the O-ring substantially horizontal until the O-ring is disengaged from the needle and completely installed over the O-ring pickup as the O-ring pickup continues to travel.

In the O-ring overturning and transferring device according to the present invention, optionally, the body further has a second groove disposed adjacent to the first groove, the needle is disposed in the second groove and has an overhang exposed to the outside of the second groove and an inner portion located inside the second groove, and at least a part of the second portion is sleeved on the overhang in the horizontal state.

In the O-ring overturning and transferring device according to the present invention, optionally, the needle is configured to have at least two extensions spaced apart from each other, and a maximum distance between free ends of the extensions is smaller than an inner diameter of the O-ring.

In the O-ring overturning and transferring device according to the present invention, optionally, the needle is integrally formed, and a distance between free ends of two overhanging portions respectively located at two outermost sides of the overhanging portions is not greater than a distance between respective ends of the inner portions respectively corresponding to the two overhanging portions.

In the O-ring overturning and transferring device, optionally, the width of the second groove is 2-3 times of the outer diameter of the needle, and/or the spacing distance between the second groove and the first groove is 0.1-0.4 mm.

In the O-ring turn-over transferring device according to the present invention, optionally, the first groove and the second groove are arranged in parallel and separated by a plate-like member.

In the O-ring overturning and transferring device according to the present invention, optionally, the width of the first groove is 1.5-2 times the outer diameter of the O-ring, and/or the first portion is larger than the second portion.

In the O-ring overturning and transferring device according to the present invention, optionally, the O-ring overturning and transferring device further includes:

a position adjustment module coupled to the body and configured to adjust a position of the body relative to the O-ring feeder and/or the O-ring picker; and/or

A position detection module configured to detect whether the O-ring is currently received in place in the first groove.

In the O-ring overturning and transferring device according to the present invention, optionally, the position detecting module includes a correlation sensor, and a side portion of the first groove is provided with an opening, and the correlation sensor is arranged to pass a signal between a transmitting end and a receiving end thereof through the opening to detect whether the O-ring is currently accommodated in position in the first groove by judging whether the signal is blocked.

Secondly, according to a second aspect of the present invention, there is also provided an O-ring assembly system comprising:

one or more O-ring overturning and material transferring devices as described in any one of the above;

the O-shaped ring feeding device is used for receiving the O-shaped rings to be assembled and conveying the O-shaped rings outwards one by one;

the O-ring feeding device is arranged between the O-ring feeding device and the O-ring overturning and transferring device and is used for continuously feeding the O-ring conveyed out of the O-ring feeding device into the first groove of the O-ring overturning and transferring device; and

one or more O-ring pickup devices are arranged to pick up the O-rings from the first groove of the O-ring overturning and material transferring device and then assemble the picked O-rings on the target position of the object to be assembled after the O-rings are moved to the preset position.

By adopting the technical scheme of the invention, the mechanical structure of the system can be simplified, the O-shaped ring mounting and dismounting device is easy to manufacture and use, the O-shaped ring mounting and dismounting operation can be efficiently, quickly, safely and reliably completed, the O-shaped ring is shorter in assembling time consumption, smoother in assembling operation and more reliable in assembling quality. The O-shaped ring assembling tool is high in practicability, and the assembling cost of the O-shaped ring can be effectively reduced.

Drawings

The invention will be described in further detail with reference to the drawings and examples, which are designed solely for the purpose of illustration and are not necessarily drawn to scale, but rather are intended to conceptually illustrate the structural configurations disclosed herein.

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of an O-ring assembly system according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view of an O-ring inverting and diverting device and an O-ring feeding device in the embodiment of the O-ring assembly system shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a cylinder block used in the example of the O-ring feeder shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view of an O-ring inverting and transferring device in the embodiment of the O-ring assembling system shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a schematic side view of the embodiment of the O-ring overturning and material transferring device shown in fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is another schematic perspective view of the embodiment of the O-ring inverting and transferring device shown in fig. 4, wherein a back structure of the embodiment of the O-ring inverting and transferring device is shown.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of an example thorn of the embodiment of the O-ring assembly system shown in figure 1.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of the O-ring assembly system embodiment of FIG. 1 being used to pick up an O-ring from an O-ring inverting and diverting device via an O-ring pick-up device.

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view of the O-ring assembly system of FIG. 1 with the O-ring pick-up device having picked up the O-ring from the O-ring inverting and transferring device.

Detailed Description

First, it should be noted that the structural components, features, advantages and the like of the O-ring overturning and transferring device and the O-ring assembling system comprising the same according to the present invention will be specifically described below by way of examples, however, all descriptions are only used for illustration and do not constitute any limitation to the present invention. In this context, the technical term "O-ring" is used to generally refer to various types of hole sealing rings made of, for example, rubber, etc., and the technical terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not intended to indicate their order or relative importance, and the technical term "connected (or connected, etc)" covers the direct connection and/or indirect connection of a specific component to another component, the technical terms "upper", "lower", "top", "bottom", the terms "inner", "outer", "vertical", "horizontal" and derivatives thereof shall relate to the orientation in the drawings and the invention may assume many alternative orientations, unless expressly stated otherwise, and the technical term "substantially" is intended to include insubstantial errors associated with measurement of a particular quantity, which may include a range of ± 8%, 5% or ± 2% of the stated value.

Furthermore, the present invention allows any combination or subtraction between any individual features described or implicit in the embodiments mentioned herein, yet allowing further embodiments of the invention that may not be mentioned directly herein. In addition, for simplicity of the drawings, identical or similar parts and features may be indicated in the same drawing only in one or several places.

Referring initially to fig. 1, a generally unitary construction of an embodiment of an O-ring assembly system according to the present invention is schematically illustrated therein, with example O-ring inversion material transfer devices according to the present invention deployed therein, and the aspects of the present invention will be described in exemplary detail below with reference to these examples.

As shown in fig. 1, the O-ring assembling system 100 may include an O-ring inverting and transferring device 10, an O-ring feeding device 20, an O-ring picking device 30 and an O-ring feeding device 40, which may be mounted on a supporting structure such as a frame 50, and the specific structural composition, shape, configuration, size, material and the like of such a supporting structure are allowed to be designed according to the practical application requirements, which is not limited in the present invention.

In the O-ring assembly system 100, the O-ring feeder 40 is configured to receive the O-rings to be assembled, and may take the form of, for example, a vibratory tray as shown in fig. 1, into which the O-rings to be assembled are inserted during use, and then separated by vibratory motion and fed out one by one, i.e., to the O-ring feeder 20 shown in fig. 1. This is not the focus of the present invention for the O-ring feeding device 40 and the prior art has provided numerous possible embodiments and those skilled in the art will be allowed to apply any of these embodiments to the inventive arrangements for performing the above-described O-ring feeding function.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, an O-ring feeding device 20 is disposed between the O-ring feeding device 40 and the O-ring inverting and transferring device 10, and is used for continuously supplying the O-rings 2 conveyed from the O-ring feeding device 40 to the O-ring inverting and transferring device 10, i.e., feeding the O-rings one by one into the O-ring inverting and transferring device 10 to be accommodated in the first groove 11 shown in fig. 2.

While some of the components of the O-ring feeder 20 have been exemplarily illustrated in fig. 2, such as the chain member 21, the feed channel 23, the power means 22 for powering the transfer of the O-rings (e.g., one or more rodless cylinders are illustrated in fig. 3, etc.), it should be noted that the above O-ring feeder may also be implemented in any of the possible embodiments already provided by the prior art, and the present invention is not intended to be limited to the actual implementation of the O-ring feeder 20 and will not be discussed in detail for general matters already known to those skilled in the art.

Referring to fig. 2 to 8, the O-ring inverting and transferring device 10 is disposed downstream of the O-ring feeding device 20 for receiving the O-ring 2 to be assembled. In the example given herein, the O-ring upender device 10 may comprise a body 1 and a thorn 3, which will be described in more detail below.

Two grooves adjacent to each other, i.e., a first groove 11 and a second groove 12, may be provided on the body 1. The first groove 11 is configured to receive the O-ring 2 transferred from the O-ring feeder 20. As shown in fig. 2, the O-ring 2 will now enter and be received in the first groove 11, substantially in a vertical state, via the opening 111 of the first groove 11, in order to wait for it to be subsequently picked up further and fitted into the target position, as will be explained in more detail below with reference to fig. 8, 9 and 1.

In order to facilitate the pick-up operation of the O-ring 2 received in the first groove 11, it is possible to make the O-ring 2 present at this time with two distinct portions, a first portion 2a and a second portion 2 b. For example, as shown in fig. 2, the first portion 2a is a portion exposed outside the first groove 11, and the second portion 2b is a portion located inside the first groove 11. In an alternative case, it is also possible to configure the first groove 11 such that, when the O-ring 2 is received therein, the centre of the O-ring 2 is above the top edge of the first groove 11, i.e. the first part 2a of the O-ring 2 is larger than the second part 2 b. With the above configuration, it would be very advantageous when the O-ring 2 is picked up, sleeved, or the like by the O-ring pickup device 30.

Again by way of example, the inventors have found that the width of the first groove 11 may alternatively be set to be 1.5-2 times the outer diameter of the O-ring. In this way, not only can the O-ring be quite favorably ensured to enter the first groove 11 very smoothly, but also the O-ring can be better controlled not to enter the first groove 11 again and then have unexpected phenomena such as toppling, deformation and the like, which can well promote the improvement of the operation efficiency of the O-ring such as conveying, overturning, transferring, assembling and the like, shorten the operation cycle time of the whole system and contribute to the improvement of the assembling quality of the O-ring.

It is possible for the thorn 3 to be arranged in the above-mentioned second groove 12 of the body 1. By means of this thorn 3, it is possible to make that when the O-ring pick-up 30 during travel has all or part of the first part 2a of the O-ring 2, possibly even including part of the second part 2b, slipped thereon (e.g. onto a ram 31 or other similar component in the O-ring pick-up 30 as exemplarily illustrated in fig. 8 and 9), so that the second part 2b is thereby also disengaged from the first groove 11 and then slipped onto the thorn 3.

At this time, as shown in fig. 8, the O-ring 2 is changed from the substantially vertical state when it is originally located in the first groove 11 to the substantially horizontal state, that is, a part of the O-ring 2 is fitted over the O-ring pickup device 30, and another part is fitted over the needle 3 and is in the horizontal state, and at this time, the O-ring 2 is expanded and stretched to form an elastic tensile force.

Subsequently, as the O-ring picking device 30 continues to advance, it will bring the above horizontal portion of the O-ring 2 out of the needle 3 under elastic tension, and then the portions of the O-ring 2 will be completely fitted onto the O-ring picking device 30, thereby completing the process of transferring the O-ring 2 from the O-ring transferring device 10 to the O-ring picking device 30. Above whole operation process is fairly simple and convenient, swift and reliable, can transfer O type circle to O type circle pickup attachment 30 accurately, high-efficient and harmless to carry out subsequent O type circle assembly operation.

Referring back to fig. 1 again, after the O-ring 2 to be assembled is taken out from the O-ring overturning and transferring device 10 by the O-ring picking device 30, the O-ring 2 can continue to travel and reach a preset position according to application requirements, and then the picked O-ring 2 is assembled on a target position (such as a hole groove of a component, an outer cylindrical surface, etc.) of the object 60 to be assembled, so as to complete the whole assembling process of the O-ring 2. The specific operation of how the O-ring pick-up device 30 peels off the O-ring 2 and mounts it to the target location is not repeated herein since it is not the focus of the present invention and the prior art provides numerous possible ways that will be appreciated and implemented by those skilled in the art.

Although in the given example the needle 3 is shown with two overhangs 3a, it will be appreciated that in practice the needle 3 may be constructed with more overhangs 3a, which overhangs 3a will be spaced from each other for the purpose of O-rings being fitted thereon. The maximum distance L between the free ends of the overhanging portions 3a is determined by the specific application₁Is smaller than the inner diameter of the O-ring, such a thorn 3 may be adapted to O-rings of different diameters, if this is met. Since, in principle, the needle 3 is extended by the ram during the removal of the material, it is only necessary to do so when the ram is in the processThe distance between the needle-shaped pieces is smaller than the diameter of the O-shaped ring in a normal state, so that the needle-shaped pieces can be suitable for O-shaped rings with different diameters.

The basic composition, function, use and technical advantages of the O-ring assembly system and O-ring upending and transferring device according to the present invention have been described above with reference to specific embodiments. It should be noted that they may be specifically designed, modified and adapted according to the actual application without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, the needle 3 of the O-ring upending and transferring device can be made of any suitable material, such as spring steel, according to the requirements of the specific application, and its shape, configuration, size and the like can be flexibly designed according to the requirements of the application. The thorn 3 can be manufactured integrally, for example by machining, as shown in fig. 7, but it can also be of a split structure consisting of several separate pieces. When the thorn 3 is arranged in the second groove 12, it will form an overhang 3a exposed outside the groove and an insert 3b inside the groove, as shown for example in fig. 8, a part of the O-ring 2 being placed horizontally over the overhang 3a of the thorn 3, and the insert 3b serving to secure the thorn 3 in the second groove 12. Although in some embodiments it is possible to provide the needle 3 with only one overhang 3a (for example to have a relatively wide width), it is more feasible to provide the needle 3 with two or more overhangs 3a, wherein the provision of two overhangs 3a is relatively simpler, more convenient and more practical.

For another example, in an alternative case, the needle 3 may be configured such that the distance L between the free ends of two overhangs 3a located respectively on the outermost sides among the plurality of overhangs 3a thereof₁Not more than a distance L between respective ends of the built-in portions 3b corresponding to the two overhanging portions 3a, respectively₂. In this way, it will help to make the area of the bottom of the thorn 3 larger than that of the top, and thus help to fix the position of the thorn 3 in the second groove 12 more firmly, and withstand the repetition of the O-ringThe turnover material-moving operation is durable.

For another example, in some embodiments, the width of the second slot 12 may be set to be 2-3 times the outer diameter of the thorn 3, so as to better accommodate possible deformation of the thorn 3 during the material taking process. In addition, it is also possible to set the spacing distance between the second groove 12 and the first groove 11 optionally in the range of 0.1 to 0.4mm, for example, by separating both the second groove 12 and the first groove 11 using a plate-like member 13 (e.g., a stainless steel plate having a thickness of 0.2mm or the like), and thus also to form the first groove 11 and the second groove 12 in a parallel arrangement. Generally speaking, the closer the second groove 12 and the first groove 11 are to each other, the better this is beneficial to shorten the operation stroke and reduce the above-mentioned elastic tension of the O-ring 2 due to expansion and stretching, so as to better promote the O-ring turning and material transferring operation.

For another example, in some embodiments, the position adjusting module 5 and/or the position detecting module 6 may be optionally configured in the O-ring flipping and transferring device 10 according to application requirements.

The position adjusting module 5 is connected to the body 1 and is configured to adjust the position of the body 1 relative to the O-ring feeding device 20 and/or the O-ring picking device 30. For example, as shown in fig. 6, the body 1 of the O-ring overturning and transferring device 10 can be mounted on the supporting plate 8 in the O-ring feeding device 20 through the mounting plate 4, and the body 1 can be moved by operating the mounting plate 4 through the sliding block 7 arranged between the mounting plate 4 and the supporting plate 8, so that the relative position adjusting operation between the O-ring overturning and transferring device 10 and the O-ring feeding device 20 and/or the O-ring picking device 30 is realized. In practical applications, the position adjustment control of the position adjustment module 5 may be manually operated, or may be electrically controlled by an electric device, a control device, or the like.

The position detection module 6 is arranged to detect whether the O-ring is currently received in position in the first groove 11. As an exemplary illustration, in an alternative case, a correlation type sensor having a transmitting end and a receiving end may be used as the position detection module 6. For example, in the example given above, an opening 14 may be provided at the side of the first groove 11, and the correlation type sensor is arranged such that the signal between its emitting end 6a and receiving end 6b passes through the opening 14 to detect whether the O-ring is currently accommodated in position in the first groove 11 by judging whether the signal is blocked. It should be understood that the transmitting end 6a and the receiving end 6b may also adopt alternative arrangements of mutual position exchange, different from the given example.

Having described the O-ring assembly system and O-ring upender material removal apparatus in detail, it should be noted that the O-ring upender material removal apparatus may be designed, manufactured, used and sold as a stand-alone product. For example, one or more O-ring overturning and material transferring devices can be configured to any applicable O-ring assembling system according to application requirements, and one or more O-ring picking devices can be configured to cooperate with the O-ring overturning and material transferring devices at the same time, so that the working efficiency can be further improved and the cost can be reduced through the parallel operation, and thus, various application requirements can be fully met and better met.

The O-ring inversion material-shifting device and the O-ring assembling system including the same according to the present invention have been explained in detail above by way of examples only, and these examples are only for illustrating the principles of the present invention and the embodiments thereof, and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention, and various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, for the power plant in the form of a cylinder mentioned in the previous example, the invention allows in some embodiments to use other forms instead, such as an electric motor. Accordingly, all equivalents are intended to be included within the scope of this invention and defined in the claims which follow.