阅读说明：本技术 一种电源远程控制系统 (Power supply remote control system ) 是由 胡成余 于 2021-06-17 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及物联网技术领域,提供了一种电源远程控制系统,主要解决当需要实现某个时间段电源高功率输入,某个时间段电源低功率输入,甚至需要电源的输入功率按照一定规律不停变化输入时,传统的调节方式不方便的技术问题。本电源远程控制系统包括：电源控制器,其具有电源输出接口和无线通信模块,且被配置为根据其无线通信模块接收到的控制命令调节其电源输出接口的输出功率；以及网络终端设备,其具有用于向所述电源控制器的无线通信模块发送控制命令的应用程序。(The invention relates to the technical field of Internet of things, and provides a power supply remote control system, which mainly solves the technical problem that a traditional adjusting mode is inconvenient when high-power input of a power supply in a certain time period, low-power input of the power supply in a certain time period or even input of input power of the power supply which needs to be changed continuously according to a certain rule needs to be realized. This power remote control system includes: the power supply controller is provided with a power supply output interface and a wireless communication module and is configured to adjust the output power of the power supply output interface according to a control command received by the wireless communication module; and a network terminal device having an application program for transmitting a control command to the wireless communication module of the power supply controller.)

1. A power supply remote control system, comprising:

the power supply controller is provided with a power supply output interface and a wireless communication module and is configured to adjust the output power of the power supply output interface according to a control command received by the wireless communication module; and

a network termination device having an application for sending control commands to the wireless communication module of the power controller.

2. The power supply remote control system of claim 1, further comprising an application server configured to store user data, process user data, and relay user data between the network terminal device and other network devices.

3. The power supply remote control system according to claim 2, wherein the application program has a manual control mode, and in the manual control mode, the application program sends a control command to the power supply controller to adjust the output power of the power supply controller according to a user operating a virtual control panel of the application program.

4. The power remote control system according to claim 2, wherein the application program has an automatic control mode in which the application program runs an automation rule and automatically sends a control command to the power controller to adjust the output power of the power controller according to a power parameter set on a time line of the automation rule.

5. The power supply remote control system according to claim 4, wherein the application program has:

a programming unit for programming the generation of the automation control rules; and/or

And the rule automatic generation unit is used for saving a control process of using the virtual control panel of the application program to send a control command to the power controller to adjust the output power of the power controller into an automatic control rule.

6. The power supply remote control system according to claim 5, wherein the application program has:

a rule issuing unit for disclosing the automation control rule to other users through the application server; and

a rule obtaining unit for downloading automation control rules from the application server.

7. The system according to claim 2, wherein the application program has a third-party platform control mode, and in the third-party platform control mode, the application program controls the application server to start a control function of the third-party platform, receives a control command of the third-party platform relayed by the application server, and sends the control command to the power controller to adjust the output power of the power controller according to the received control command of the third-party platform.

8. The power supply remote control system according to claim 2, wherein the application program has a remote assistance control mode, in the remote assistance control mode, the application program applies for a remote control link to the application server, and the link is sent to a remote user through third-party communication software, the remote user opens a page pointed by the link through network equipment with a browser function after receiving the link, the page generates a virtual remote control panel and establishes a real-time communication connection with the application server, the remote user sends a control command to the application server by operating the virtual remote control panel, the application server relays the control command to the application program, and the application program sends the control command to the power controller according to the received control command to adjust the output power of the power controller.

9. The power supply remote control system according to claim 2, wherein the application program has a queue control mode, in the queue control mode, the application program creates a remote control queue in the application server, the creator of the queue is called a house owner, other remote users in the queue are called team members, the house owner can send a control command to the power supply controller of the house owner through the virtual control panel of the application program to adjust the output power of the power supply controller, meanwhile, the application server relays the control command to the application programs of all the team members in the queue, and the application programs of the team members receive the control command relayed by the application server to send the control command to the power supply controllers of the respective team members to adjust the output power of the respective power supply controllers.

10. The power supply remote control system according to claim 9, wherein in the queue control mode, the homeowner can also designate a captain among the teams, the captain can take over the control operation of the output power of the power supply controller by the homeowner, and the power supply controllers of all the members in the queue, including the homeowner, will adjust the output power of their respective power supply controllers according to the control operation of the captain; the householder can cancel the captain or re-captain at any time; the captain can transfer control to other captain, and the captain member will become the new captain.

11. The power remote control system of claim 9, wherein in said queue control mode, the application program further transmits voice, text and/or video information between queue members.

12. The power supply remote control system according to claim 9, wherein in the queue control mode, creating a remote queue comprises a step of selecting a queue type and a step of adding a member, wherein the queue type comprises a private type and a public type, the private type queue is a queue which needs to be joined by obtaining the approval of the queue creator, the public type queue is a queue which can be joined by applying, and the adding member comprises an application mode and an invitation mode, wherein the invitation mode is that a homeowner invites an idle user currently on the application server to join the queue, and the invited user enters the queue after approving the invitation.

13. The power supply remote control system according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the wireless communication module comprises bluetooth and/or Wi-Fi, and the network terminal device is a smartphone, a tablet, a computer, a smart watch, or a handheld terminal.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of Internet of things, in particular to a power supply remote control system.

Background

At present, electronic devices have entered into the aspects of our lives, power supplies required by different electronic devices are different, and the power output of some electronic devices needs to be adjusted in real time, for example: the illumination equipment adjusts the brightness by adjusting the input power of the power supply, the temperature control device adjusts the temperature by adjusting the input power of the power supply, and the electronic equipment using a motor such as a water pump, a fan, a massager and the like adjusts the output power of the equipment by adjusting the input power of the power supply.

The traditional adjustment method of these devices is manually achieved by adjusting the input power of the power supply by manually adjusting a potentiometer switch on the power supply or by means of an infrared remote control.

However, when we need to realize high power input of power source in a certain time period, low power input of power source in a certain time period, or even input of input power of power source which is required to be changed constantly according to a certain rule, the traditional adjusting mode becomes very inconvenient.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a remote control system for power supply, which solves at least to some extent the above-mentioned problems of the related art.

In order to achieve the purpose, the technical scheme adopted by the invention is as follows:

a power supply remote control system comprising:

the power supply controller is provided with a power supply output interface and a wireless communication module and is configured to adjust the output power of the power supply output interface according to a control command received by the wireless communication module; and

a network termination device having an application for sending control commands to the wireless communication module of the power controller.

In some embodiments, the system further comprises an application server configured to store user data, process user data, and relay user data between the network terminal device and other network devices.

In some embodiments, the application program has a manual control mode, and in the manual control mode, the application program sends a control command to the power controller to adjust the output power of the power controller according to a virtual control panel of the application program operated by a user.

In some embodiments, the application program has an automatic control mode in which the application program runs an automatic control rule and automatically sends a control command to the power controller to adjust the output power of the power controller according to a power parameter set on a timeline of the automatic rule.

In some embodiments, the application has:

a programming unit for programming the generation of the automation control rules; and/or

And the rule automatic generation unit is used for saving a control process of using the virtual control panel of the application program to send a control command to the power controller to adjust the output power of the power controller into an automatic control rule.

In some embodiments, the application has:

a rule issuing unit for disclosing the automation control rule to other users through the application server; and

a rule obtaining unit for downloading automation control rules from the application server.

In some embodiments, the application program has a third-party platform control mode, and in the third-party platform control mode, the application program controls the application server to start a control function of the third-party platform, receives a control command of the third-party platform relayed by the application server, and sends the control command to the power controller to adjust the output power of the power controller according to the received control command of the third-party platform.

In some embodiments, the application has a remote assistance control mode in which the application applies for a remote control link to the application server, and the link is sent to a remote user through third-party communication software, the remote user opens a page pointed by the link through network equipment with a browser function after receiving the link, the page generates a virtual remote control panel and establishes a real-time communication connection with the application server, the remote user sends a control command to the application server by operating the virtual remote control panel, the application server relays the control command to the application program, and the application program sends the control command to the power controller according to the received control command to adjust the output power of the power controller.

In some embodiments, the application has a queue control mode, in which the application creates a remote control queue in the application server, the creator of the queue is called a house owner, the other remote users in the queue are called team members, the house owner can send a control command to its power controller to adjust the output power of the power controller through the virtual control panel of its application, and simultaneously relay the control command to the application programs of all the team members in the queue through the application server, and the application programs of the team members receive the control command relayed by the application server to send the control command to their respective power controllers to adjust the output power of the respective power controllers.

In some embodiments, in the queue control mode, the homeowner can also appoint a captain among the members, the captain can take over the control operation of the output power of the power supply controller by the homeowner, and the power supply controllers of all the members in the queue including the homeowner can adjust the output power of the power supply controllers according to the control operation of the captain; the householder can cancel the captain or re-captain at any time; the captain can transfer control to other captain, and the captain member will become the new captain.

In some embodiments, the application program also transmits voice, text, and/or video information between queue members in the queue control mode.

In some embodiments, in the queue control mode, creating a remote queue includes a step of selecting a queue type and a step of adding a member, where the queue type includes a private type and a public type, the private type queue is a queue that can be joined only after being granted by a queue creator, the public type queue is a queue that can be joined immediately after being applied, and the member to be added includes an application mode and an invitation mode, where the invitation mode is that a homeowner invites an idle user currently on the application server to join the queue, and the invited user enters the queue only after being granted the invitation.

In some embodiments, the wireless communication module comprises bluetooth and/or Wi-Fi, and the network terminal device is a smart phone, a tablet, a computer, a smart watch, or a handheld terminal.

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

the invention can easily upgrade the equipment which needs to regulate the operation power in a short distance to the equipment with the function of wireless remote control regulation operation, thereby greatly improving the usability of the product.

The invention can make the original personnel adjust the work of the working power in real time through the further function, and the programming function of the invention realizes the unattended automatic adjustment and greatly saves the labor. For example, after the common electric fan is upgraded by using the invention, the programming function of the invention is used to automatically adjust the wind power of the fan at different time intervals, thus realizing automatic frequency conversion work and greatly improving the energy utilization.

Through the further third-party platform access function of the invention, the original equipment for manually adjusting the working power is accessed to the third-party automatic control platform, so as to realize the intelligent control and adjustment of the output power.

The output power of the equipment is remotely adjusted by the further remote assistance control function of the invention.

Through the further online remote control queue function of the invention, the electronic equipment of a plurality of users can participate in the control queue.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a remote power control system according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of a remote power control system according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a third embodiment of a remote power control system according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a fourth embodiment of a remote power control system according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a fifth embodiment of a remote power control system according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is another schematic diagram of a fifth embodiment of the remote power control system according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a first embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the second embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a third embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart according to a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of the fifth embodiment.

Detailed Description

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

The output power of the power supply controller, that is, the output power of the power supply output interface of the power supply controller, is adjusted as described in the present application.

The first embodiment is as follows:

referring to fig. 1, the present embodiment remotely adjusts the output power of the power controller 102 using a manual control mode for the user 101. In this embodiment, the network terminal device 103 operated by the user 101 is included, and specific optional types of the network terminal device 103 include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, a tablet, a computer, a smart watch, a handheld terminal, and the like, and the network terminal device 103 allows the user 101 to establish communication with the power controller 102 through a bluetooth/Wi-Fi function (wireless communication module) 102.1 of the power controller 102 using an application 104 thereon, wherein the power controller 102 is configured to adjust an output power of a power output interface of the power controller 102 according to a control command received by the bluetooth/Wi-Fi function 102.1, and wherein the user 101 sends the control command to the power controller 102 through a virtual control panel operating the application 104 to adjust the output power of the power output interface of the power controller 102.

Example two:

referring to fig. 2, the second embodiment adjusts the output power of the power controller 102 for the user 101 using the automatic control mode. In the second embodiment, the network terminal device 103 operated by the user 101 is included, and specific optional types of the network terminal device 103 include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, a tablet, a computer, a smart watch, a handheld terminal, and the like, and the network terminal device 103 allows the user 101 to establish communication with the power controller 102 through a bluetooth/Wi-Fi function (wireless communication module) 102.1 of the power controller 102 by using an application 104 thereon, where the power controller 102 is configured to adjust an output power of a power output interface of the power controller 102 according to a control command received by the bluetooth/Wi-Fi function 102.1; wherein the application 104 can establish communication with the application server 105 through the network terminal device 103 via the network 106; a user 101 creates an automation control rule through a programming function of an application program 104, wherein the rule comprises a time line, and the user can set an output power parameter of a power controller at a certain time point on the time line; after the user runs the rule through the application program 104, the application program automatically sends a control command to the power controller 102 to adjust the output power of the power controller 102 according to the power parameter set on the time line of the rule; the user 101 can disclose the saved automation control rules to other users through the application server 105, and can also download the automation control rules disclosed by other users through the application server 105; wherein the user 101 may save the control process of sending the control command to the power controller 102 to adjust the power controller output power using the virtual control panel of the application 104 as an automation control rule, so that the rule may be run next time through the application 104, and the application 104 automatically sends the control command to the power controller 102 to adjust the power controller 102 output power according to the power parameters saved on the timeline of the rule.

Example three:

referring to fig. 3, the third embodiment adjusts the output power of the power controller 102 for the user 101 using the third party platform control mode. In the third embodiment, the network terminal device 103 operated by the user 101 is included, and specific optional types of the network terminal device 103 include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, a tablet, a computer, a smart watch, a handheld terminal, and the like, where the network terminal device 103 allows the user 101 to establish communication with the power controller 102 through a bluetooth/Wi-Fi function (wireless communication module) 102.1 of the power controller 102 by using an application 104 thereon, where the power controller 102 is configured to adjust an output power of a power output interface of the power controller 102 according to a control command received by the bluetooth/Wi-Fi function 102.1; wherein the application 104 can establish communication with the application server 105 through the network terminal device 103 via the network 106; the user 101 authorizes the third party platform 109 to connect to the application server 105 via the network 106 through the API provided by the application server 105, so that the application 104 can receive the control command from the third party platform 109, and the application 104 sends the control command to the power controller 102 to adjust the output power of the power controller 102 according to the received control command.

Example four:

referring to fig. 4, the fourth embodiment regulates the output power of the power controller 102 for the user 101 using the remote assistance control mode. In the fourth embodiment, the network terminal device 103 operated by the user 101 is included, and specific optional types of the network terminal device 103 include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, a tablet, a computer, a smart watch, a handheld terminal, and the like, the network terminal device 103 allows the user 101 to use an application 104 thereon to establish communication with the power controller 102 through a bluetooth/Wi-Fi function (wireless communication module) 102.1 of the power controller 102, wherein the power controller 102 is configured to adjust an output power of a power output interface of the power controller 102 according to a control command received by the bluetooth/Wi-Fi function 102.1, wherein the application 104 can establish communication with the application server 105 through the network terminal device 103 via a network 106; the user 101 applies for a remote control link from the application server 105 through the application program 104, and sends the remote control link to the remote user 108 through third-party communication software, after receiving the link, the remote user 108 opens the page 107.2 pointed by the link through the network device 107 with the browser function 107.1, the page 107.2 generates a virtual remote control panel 107.3, the page 107.2 establishes a real-time communication connection with the application server 105, the remote user 108 sends a control command to the application server 105 by operating the virtual remote control panel 107.3, the application server 105 relays the control command to the application program 104 of the user, and the application program 104 sends the control command to the power controller 102 to adjust the output power of the power supply according to the received control command.

Example five:

in the fifth embodiment, the queue control mode is used by the user 101, and the remote interactive function adjusts the output power of the plurality of power controllers.

Wherein fig. 5 shows a situation where the user 101 shares two users with the other user 108, wherein the two users each correspond to one network termination device, denoted 103 and 107 in fig. 5, and each correspond to one power controller, denoted 102 and 102A in fig. 5.

Fig. 6 shows a situation where a user 101 and a plurality of users 108-01, 108-N share N +1 users, where the N +1 users each correspond to a network terminal device, which is denoted as 103, 107-01, 107-N in fig. 6, and each corresponds to a power controller, which is denoted as 102, 102-01, 102-N in fig. 6.

Referring to fig. 5 and 6, the fifth embodiment regulates the output power of the power controller 102 for the user 101 using the remote assistance control mode. In the fourth embodiment, the network terminal device 103 operated by the user 101 is included, and the network terminal device 103 may be specifically selected from the types including, but not limited to, a smart phone, a tablet, a computer, a smart watch, a handheld terminal, and the like, and the network terminal device 103 allows the user 101 to establish communication with the power controller 102 through a bluetooth/Wi-Fi function (wireless communication module) 102.1 of the power controller 102 by using an application 104 thereon, where the power controller 102 is configured to adjust an output power of a power output interface of the power controller 102 according to a control command received by the bluetooth/Wi-Fi function 102.1; wherein, the user 102 can create a remote control queue at the application server 105 through the application program 104, the users 108-01, 108-N can obtain the queue through the application programs 104-01, 104-N, and the users 108-01, 108-N can apply for joining the queue; the creator of the queue is called a homeowner, and other users in the queue are called team members; the homeowner can invite the currently online idle users on the application server to join the queue; the homeowner can send a control command to the power controller 102 of the homeowner through the virtual control panel of the application program 104 to adjust the output power of the power controller 102, and simultaneously relay the control command to the application programs 104-01 and 104-N of all the team members in the queue through the application server 105, wherein the application programs 104-01 and 104-N of the team members send the control command to the respective power controllers 102-01 and 102-N to adjust the output power of the respective power controllers 102-01 and 102-N after receiving the control command relayed by the application server 105; the house owner can also appoint a captain among the members, the captain will take over the house owner to complete the control operation, and all the members in the captain, including the power supply controller of the house owner, will adjust the output power of each power supply controller according to the control operation of the captain; the householder can cancel the captain or re-captain at any time; the captain may also hand over control to other captain who will take over will become the new captain. All users in the queue can establish a call by providing the provided voice, text and video communication functions through the application programs 104, 104-01 and 104-N.

Fig. 7 shows a flow of the user 101 remotely adjusting the output power of the power controller 102 using the manual control mode. Step 201 is to start the application 104 on the network terminal device 103 for the user 101; wherein step 202 turns on the power controller 102 for the user 101; wherein step 203 establishes a connection for the user 101 to operate the application 104 via the bluetooth/Wi-Fi functionality 102.1 of the power controller 102; wherein step 204 regulates the output power of the power controller 102 for the user 101 to send a control command to the power controller 102 via the application 104.

Fig. 8 shows a flow of the user 101 adjusting the output power of the power controller 102 using the automatic control mode. Step 201 is to start the application 104 on the network terminal device 103 for the user 101; wherein step 202 turns on the power controller 102 for the user 101; wherein step 203 establishes a connection for the user 101 to operate the application 104 via the bluetooth/Wi-Fi functionality 102.1 of the power controller 102; wherein step 211 is for the application 104 to obtain automation control rules via the application server 105; wherein step 212 selects and runs an automation control rule for the user 101; wherein step 213 automatically sends a control command to the power controller 102 to regulate the output power of the power controller 102 for the application 104 according to the automation control rules.

Fig. 9 shows a flow of the user 101 adjusting the output power of the power controller 102 using the third party platform control mode. Step 201 is to start the application 104 on the network terminal device 103 for the user 101, step 202 is to start the power controller 102 for the user 101, step 203 is to establish a connection for the user 101 to operate the application 104 through the bluetooth/Wi-Fi function 102.1 of the power controller 102, step 221 is to start the third party platform control function for the user 101 to operate the application 104 to connect the application server 105, step 222 is to establish a connection between the application server 105 and the third party platform 109 and receive a control command from the third party platform 109, step 223 is to relay the control command received from the third party platform 109 to the application 104 for the application server 105, and step 224 is to adjust the output power of the power controller 102 for the application 104 to send the control command to the power controller 102 according to the control command received from the third party platform 109.

Fig. 10 shows a flow of the user 101 adjusting the output power of the power controller 102 using the remote assistance control mode. Step 201 is to start the application 104 on the network terminal device 103 for the user 101; wherein step 202 turns on the power controller 102 for the user 101; wherein step 203 establishes a connection for the user 101 to operate the application 104 via the bluetooth/Wi-Fi functionality 102.1 of the power controller 102; wherein step 231 applies for a remote control link from the application server 105 for the user 101 operating the application 104; wherein step 232 is the user 101 sending the remote control link to the remote user 108 via the third party communication software; step 233 is that after receiving the link, the remote user 108 opens the page 107.2 pointed by the link through the browser 107.1 of the network terminal device 107, where the page 107.2 generates a virtual remote control panel 107.3, and the virtual remote control panel 107.3 establishes a real-time communication connection with the application server 105; wherein step 234 sends a control command to the application server 105 for the remote user 108 by operating said virtual remote control panel 107.3; wherein step 235 relays the control command to the user's application 104 for application server 105; wherein step 236 regulates the output power of the power supply for the application 104 to send control commands to the power supply controller 102 based on the received control commands.

Fig. 11 shows a flow of the remote interactive function adjusting the output power of the plurality of power controllers using the queue control mode by the user 101. Step 201 is to start the application 104 on the network terminal device 103 for the user 101; wherein step 202 turns on the power controller 102 for the user 101; wherein step 203 establishes a connection for the user 101 to operate the application 104 via the bluetooth/Wi-Fi functionality 102.1 of the power controller 102; wherein step 301 opens an application 104-N on the network terminal device 107-N for the remote user 108-N; wherein step 302 turns on the power controller 102-N for the remote user 108-N; wherein step 303 establishes a connection for the remote user 108-N to operate the application 104-N through the Bluetooth/Wi-Fi functionality 102.1 of the power controller 102-N; wherein step 241 creates a private remote control queue for user 101 to connect to application server 105 through application 104, wherein user 101 becomes the home owner of the remote control queue; wherein step 304 obtains the remote control queue for remote user 108-N by connecting to application server 105 through application program 104-N; wherein step 305 selects a remote control queue for remote user 108-N and applies for joining the queue; wherein step 242 provides user 101 with consent for remote user 108-N to join the remote control queue; wherein step 306 adds a remote control queue for remote user 108-N to become a team member; wherein step 243 invites user 101 to the currently online idle user 108-N on application server 105 to join the remote control queue; wherein step 307 is for user 108-N to agree that user 101's invitation to join the remote control queue to become a team member; wherein step 244 adjusts the output power of the power controller 102 for the user 101 sending control commands through the virtual control panel of the application 104; wherein step 245 forwards control commands to application server 105 for application 104 synchronization; wherein step 308 is the application server 105 relaying the control command to all team members' applications 104-N in the queue; step 309 is that the application program 104-N sends a control command to the power controller 102-N to adjust the output power of the power controller 102-N according to the received control command relayed by the application server 105; wherein step 246 is that the user 101 appoints one member in the queue as the captain, and the captain will take over the control operation of the homeowner 101; wherein step 310 is for team member 108-N to become the captain; wherein step 311 adjusts the output power of the power controller 102-N for the captain 108-N to send a control command through the virtual control panel of the application 104-N; wherein step 312 forwards the control command to the application server 105 for application 104-N synchronization; wherein step 247 is the application server 105 relaying the control command to the application 104 of the homeowner 101; step 248 is that the application program 104 sends a control command to the power controller 102 to adjust the output power of the power controller 102 according to the received control command relayed by the application server 105; wherein step 249 is for the homeowner 101 to send a command to cancel the captain assignment to the server 105 via the application 104; wherein step 313 is that application 104-N of captain 108-N receives the command to cancel captain from server 105 relay, captain 108-N loses the control authority and becomes the team member; wherein step 250 is that the homeowner 101 sends an operation of removing a certain team member from the queue to the application server 105 through the application 104; where the application 104-N of the team member 108-N receives the command from the server 105 to remove the queue at step 314, the team member 108-N is removed from the remote control queue.

The present invention has been described in detail with reference to the specific embodiments, and the detailed description is only for the purpose of helping those skilled in the art understand the present invention, and is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. Various modifications, equivalent changes, etc. made by those skilled in the art under the spirit of the present invention shall be included in the protection scope of the present invention.