阅读说明：本技术 一种铝合金锻造控制臂辊锻制坯模具 (Aluminum alloy forging control arm roll forging blank making die ) 是由 李昆 王德伟 张宝 李迪 于 2021-06-21 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种铝合金锻造控制臂辊锻制坯模具,其安装在辊锻机上,其包括上模具体和下模具体,上模具体固定连接在辊锻机的上辊轴上,下模具体固定连接在下辊轴上；上模具体和下模具体对应轴向的外侧壁由一端至另一端分别开设有多个压槽,上模具体和下模具体上的每个压槽分别沿其周向设置,上模具体和下模具体的一端侧壁均设有贯穿其另一端的安装孔,安装孔内均穿设有加热管,上辊轴一端端部的压紧环内设置第一加热管插口,下辊轴一端端部的压紧环内设置第二加热管插口；加热管分别与对应的第一加热管插口及第二加热管插口电连接,辊锻机的控制柜控制上辊轴及下辊轴的起停、转速及加热管的加热状态。(The invention discloses an aluminum alloy forging control arm roll forging blank making die which is arranged on a roll forging machine and comprises an upper die body and a lower die body, wherein the upper die body is fixedly connected to an upper roll shaft of the roll forging machine, and the lower die body is fixedly connected to a lower roll shaft; the outer side walls, corresponding to the axial direction, of the upper die body and the lower die body are respectively provided with a plurality of pressing grooves from one end to the other end, each pressing groove on the upper die body and each pressing groove on the lower die body are respectively arranged along the circumferential direction of the upper die body and the lower die body, the side wall of one end of each of the upper die body and the lower die body is provided with a mounting hole penetrating through the other end of each of the upper die body and the lower die body, a heating pipe is arranged in each mounting hole in a penetrating manner, a first heating pipe socket is arranged in a pressing ring at one end part of the upper roller shaft, and a second heating pipe socket is arranged in a pressing ring at one end part of the lower roller shaft; the heating pipes are respectively and electrically connected with the corresponding first heating pipe sockets and the second heating pipe sockets, and the control cabinet of the roll forging machine controls the start and stop of the upper roll shaft and the lower roll shaft, the rotating speed and the heating state of the heating pipes.)

1. The roll forging blank making die for the aluminum alloy forging control arm is installed on a roll forging machine (19) and is characterized by comprising an upper die body (1) and a lower die body (2), wherein the upper die body (1) and the lower die body (2) are formed by cutting an equal-diameter cylinder body along the central axial direction of the equal-diameter cylinder body, the axial end part of the upper die body (1) is fixedly connected to an upper roll shaft (1901) of the roll forging machine, and the axial end part of the lower die body (2) is fixedly connected to a lower roll shaft (1902) of the roll forging machine; a plurality of pressure grooves are formed in the outer side walls, corresponding to the axial direction, of the upper die body (1) and the lower die body (2) from one end to the other end, each pressure groove in the upper die body (1) and the lower die body (2) is arranged along the circumferential direction of the pressure groove, a through mounting hole (3) is formed in each side wall from one axial end to the other axial end of the upper die body (1) and the lower die body (2), a heating pipe (4) penetrates through each mounting hole (3), a first heating pipe socket is arranged in a compression ring at one end of the upper roll shaft (1901), and a second heating pipe socket is arranged in a compression ring at one end of the lower roll shaft (1902); the heating pipe (4) is respectively and electrically connected with the corresponding first heating pipe socket and the second heating pipe socket, and the control cabinet of the roll forging machine (19) controls the start and stop of the upper roll shaft and the lower roll shaft, the rotating speed and the heating state of the heating pipe.

2. The roll forging blank making die for the aluminum alloy forging control arm as recited in claim 1, wherein hoisting holes (14) convenient for hoisting are formed in the upper die body (1) and the lower die body (2), the hoisting holes (14) are formed in the outer side wall between two adjacent press grooves, and the hoisting holes (14) are blind internal threaded holes.

3. The aluminum alloy forging control arm roll forging blank making die as set forth in claim 2, wherein the press grooves on the upper die body (1) at least comprise a first press groove (6), a second press groove (7), a third press groove (8) and a fourth press groove (9) from one end to the other end in sequence, and the cross-sectional shapes of the first press groove (6), the second press groove (7), the third press groove (8) and the fourth press groove (9) are any one of semicircular, semielliptical, triangular and square.

4. The aluminum alloy forging control arm roll forging blank making die as set forth in claim 3, the pressure grooves on the lower die body (2) at least comprise a fifth pressure groove (10), a sixth pressure groove (11), a seventh pressure groove (12) and an eighth pressure groove (13) from one end to the other end in sequence, the cross section of the fifth pressure groove (10), the sixth pressure groove (11), the seventh pressure groove (12) and the eighth pressure groove (13) is any one of semicircular, semielliptical, triangular and square, in the roll forging blank of the upper die body (1) and the lower die body (2), the shape and the position of the fifth pressure groove (10) correspond to the shape and the position of the first pressure groove (6), the sixth pressure groove (11) corresponds to the shape and the position of the second pressure groove (7), the seventh pressure groove (12) corresponds to the shape and the position of the third pressure groove (8), the eighth pressure groove (13) corresponds to the fourth pressure groove (9) in shape and position.

5. The aluminum alloy forging control arm roll forging blank making die is characterized in that the axial widening of the grooves of the first pressing groove (6), the second pressing groove (7), the third pressing groove (8), the fourth pressing groove (9), the fifth pressing groove (10), the sixth pressing groove (11), the seventh pressing groove (12) and the eighth pressing groove (13) is arranged along the axial direction of the corresponding die.

6. The aluminum alloy forging control arm roll forging blank making die as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plug (5) is connected in the other end hole of the mounting hole (3).

7. The aluminum alloy forging control arm roll forging blank making die as set forth in claim 1, a first flange (15) is arranged on the end surface of one end of the upper die body (1) along the circumferential direction of the upper die body, a first groove (16) is arranged on the end surface of the other end of the upper die body along the circumferential direction of the upper die body, two ends corresponding to the mounting hole on the upper die body (1) are respectively positioned in the first flange (15) and the first groove (16), a second flange (17) is arranged on the end surface of one end of the lower die body (2) along the circumferential direction of the lower die body, a second groove (18) is arranged on the end surface of the other end of the lower die body along the circumferential direction of the lower die body, two ends corresponding to the mounting hole on the lower die body (2) are respectively positioned in the second flange (17) and the second groove (18), first flanges (15) and first grooves (16) arranged at two ends of the upper die body (1) are respectively connected in the compression ring grooves and on the bosses at two ends of the upper roll shaft in a one-to-one correspondence manner; and second flanges (17) and second grooves (18) arranged at two ends of the lower die body (2) are respectively connected in the pressing ring grooves and on the bosses at two ends of the lower roll shaft in a one-to-one correspondence manner.

8. The aluminum alloy forging control arm roll forging blank making die as claimed in claim 7,characterized in that the groove wall radius R1 of the concave side surface of the first groove (16) isThe groove wall half diameter R2 of the convex side surface isThe inner side wall of the upper die body (1) is half-warp R3The half-diameter of the outer side wall is R4The inner side wall of the upper die body (1) is precisely attached to the outer side wall of the upper roll shaft; the half-diameter of the inner side wall of the lower die body (2) is 180 DEG^+0.2mm, and the inner side wall of the lower die body (2) is precisely attached to the outer side wall of the lower roll shaft.

9. The aluminum alloy forging control arm roll forging blank die as recited in claim 8, wherein a groove wall half diameter R5 of the concave side surface of the first flange isThe groove wall half diameter R6 of the convex side surface is

10. The aluminum alloy forging control arm roll forging blank making die as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the upper die body (1) and the lower die body (2) are in the working positions with the convex surfaces opposite to each other, the installation gap between the outer side walls is 1-20 mm.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a roll forging blank making die, in particular to an aluminum alloy forging control arm roll forging blank making die.

Background

Due to the excellent properties of aluminum and aluminum alloys, aluminum and aluminum alloys have been widely used in various fields such as aviation, aerospace, construction, hardware, packaging materials, cables, etc., and in recent years, aluminum alloy forgings for automobiles have been rapidly developed. In the production process of the aluminum alloy forging, the high-rib web control arm is complex in shape, difficult to blank and difficult to produce to a certain extent. In order to save raw materials, a mode of arranging two pieces in a reverse mode by one die is generally adopted. The existing blank-making mould wastes materials seriously, has poor blank-making effect, can not forge a plurality of parts simultaneously, and causes the problem of higher blank-making cost.

Therefore, how to provide an efficient aluminum alloy forging control arm roll forging blank making die is a problem to be solved urgently by the technical personnel in the field.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, the invention provides an aluminum alloy forging control arm roll forging blank making die, which can improve the efficiency and quality of roll forging blank making.

In order to achieve the purpose, the invention adopts the following technical scheme: the roll forging blank making die for the aluminum alloy forging control arm is installed on a roll forging machine and comprises an upper die body and a lower die body, wherein the upper die body and the lower die body are formed by cutting an equal-diameter cylinder body along the central axial direction of the equal-diameter cylinder body; the outer side walls, corresponding to the axial direction, of the upper die body and the lower die body are respectively provided with a plurality of pressure grooves from one end to the other end, each pressure groove in the upper die body and each pressure groove in the lower die body are respectively arranged along the circumferential direction of the pressure groove, the side walls, from one axial end to the other axial end, of the upper die body and the lower die body are respectively provided with a through mounting hole, a heating pipe penetrates through the mounting holes, a first heating pipe socket is arranged in a compression ring at one end part of the upper roller shaft, and a second heating pipe socket is arranged in a compression ring at one end part of the lower roller shaft; the heating pipes are respectively electrically connected with the corresponding first heating pipe sockets and the corresponding second heating pipe sockets, the control cabinet of the roll forging machine controls the start-stop and rotating speed of the upper roll shaft and the lower roll shaft and the heating state of the heating pipes, specifically, the control cabinet controls the motor of the upper roll shaft to control the start-stop and rotating speed of the motor, and the temperature control device of the control cabinet controls the heating state of the heating pipes.

The invention has the beneficial effects that: an upper die body and a lower die body are arranged and are respectively arranged on an upper roll shaft and a lower roll shaft of a roll forging machine, a plurality of pressure grooves are respectively arranged on the outer side walls of the upper die body and the lower die body, the pressure grooves of the upper die body and the lower die body can roll-forge a workpiece to be machined, and the multiple press grooves correspond to different working procedures, so that the workpiece to be machined is molded in the press grooves in the upper die and the lower die, the shape of the molded workpiece to be machined is close to the outline of a final forging piece, the utilization rate of materials can be greatly improved, the workpiece to be machined subjected to roll forging is deformed along the length direction, the streamline of its length direction is formed along in treating the machined part, can improve the mechanical properties of material, goes up the mould body and specifically sets up the mounting hole on the lower mould, loads the heating pipe in the mounting hole, and the heating pipe can heat the mould body and the lower mould specifically, keeps treating the temperature of machined part, and then stably treats the quality of machined part roll forging. The roll forging blank manufacturing rhythm is faster than the forging rhythm, so the processed piece obtained by roll forging can be directly used for forging to form a finished piece without reheating and then forging. The roll forging blank is to continuously and locally apply pressure to the blank, and the required forming force is smaller than that of die forging. The roll forging has the advantages of no impact, small vibration and noise, good labor condition and convenient automation realization.

Preferably, the upper die body and the lower die body are both provided with hoisting holes convenient to hoist, the hoisting holes are formed in the outer side wall between the two adjacent pressure grooves, and the hoisting holes are internal thread blind holes.

Preferably, the indent on the upper die body at least comprises a first indent, a second indent, a third indent and a fourth indent in sequence from one end to the other end, and the cross-sectional shapes of the first indent, the second indent, the third indent and the fourth indent are any one of semicircular, semi-elliptical, triangular and square.

Preferably, the press grooves on the lower die body at least comprise a fifth press groove, a sixth press groove, a seventh press groove and an eighth press groove from one end to the other end in sequence, the cross-sectional shapes of the fifth press groove, the sixth press groove, the seventh press groove and the eighth press groove are any one of semicircular, semi-elliptical, triangular and square, in the roll forging blank of the upper die body and the lower die body, the fifth press groove corresponds to the first press groove in shape, the sixth press groove corresponds to the second press groove in shape, the seventh press groove corresponds to the third press groove in shape, and the eighth press groove corresponds to the fourth press groove in shape.

Preferably, the grooves of the first pressing groove, the second pressing groove, the third pressing groove, the fourth pressing groove, the fifth pressing groove, the sixth pressing groove, the seventh pressing groove and the eighth pressing groove are all arranged along the axial direction of the corresponding mold in a widening manner.

Preferably, a plug is connected in the other end hole of the mounting hole.

Preferably, a first flange is arranged on one end face of the upper die body along the circumferential direction of the upper die body, a first groove is arranged on the other end face of the upper die body along the circumferential direction of the upper die body, two ends of the mounting hole corresponding to the upper die body are respectively located on the first flange and the first groove, a second flange is arranged on one end face of the lower die body along the circumferential direction of the lower die body, a second groove is arranged on the other end face of the lower die body along the circumferential direction of the lower die body, two ends of the mounting hole corresponding to the lower die body are respectively located on the second flange and the second groove, and the first flange and the first groove arranged on two ends of the upper die body are respectively connected to the compression ring grooves and the bosses on two ends of the upper roll shaft in a one-to-one correspondence manner; and second flanges and second grooves arranged at two ends of the lower die body are respectively connected in the clamp ring grooves and on the bosses at two ends of the lower roll shaft in a one-to-one correspondence manner.

Preferably, the groove wall radius R1 of the concave side surface of the first groove isThe groove wall half diameter R2 of the convex side surface isThe inner side wall of the upper die body is half-warp R3The half-diameter of the outer side wall is R4The inner side wall of the upper die body is precisely attached to the outer side wall of the upper roller shaft; the half-diameter of the inner side wall of the lower die body is 180 DEG^+0.2mm, and the specific inside wall of lower mould is laminated with the lateral wall of lower roll axle is accurate.

Preferably, the groove wall half-diameter R5 of the concave side surface of the first flange isThe groove wall half diameter R6 of the convex side surface is

Preferably, when the upper die body and the lower die body are in working positions with convex surfaces opposite to each other, the mounting gap between the outer side walls of the upper die body and the lower die body is 1-20 mm.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is an overall structure diagram of a roll forging blank-making mold of an aluminum alloy forging control arm according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an upper die body of a roll forging blank making die with an aluminum alloy forging control arm according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a first labeled schematic diagram of an upper die body of the roll forging blank making die with the aluminum alloy forging control arm;

FIG. 4 is a second labeled schematic diagram of an upper die body of the roll forging blank making die with the aluminum alloy forging control arm;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a lower die body of the roll forging blank making die with a plug for aluminum alloy forging control arm according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a lower die body of the roll forging blank making die without a plug for an aluminum alloy forging control arm according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a plug of a roll forging blank-making mold of an aluminum alloy forging control arm according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a heating tube of an aluminum alloy forging control arm roll forging blank-making mold according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the positions of an upper die body and a lower die body of the roll forging blank making die with the aluminum alloy forging control arm according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a roll forging blank mold and a roll forging machine of the aluminum alloy forging control arm of the present invention.

The die comprises an upper die body 1, a lower die body 2, a mounting hole 3, a heating pipe 4, a plug 5, a first indent 6, a second indent 7, a third indent 8, a fourth indent 9, a fifth indent 10, a sixth indent 11, a seventh indent 12, an eighth indent 13, a lifting hole 14, a first flange 15, a first groove 16, a second flange 17, a second groove 18, a roll forging machine 19, a roll shaft 1901 and a roll shaft 1902.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the 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 invention.

Referring to fig. 1 to 10 of the present invention, an aluminum alloy forging control arm roll forging blank die according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed on a roll forging machine 19, and includes an upper die body 1 and a lower die body 2, both the upper die body 1 and the lower die body 2 are formed by cutting a constant diameter cylinder along a central axial direction thereof, an axial end of the upper die body 1 is fixedly connected to an upper roll shaft 1901 of the roll forging machine, and an axial end of the lower die body 2 is fixedly connected to a lower roll shaft 1902 of the roll forging machine; a plurality of pressure grooves are respectively formed in the outer side walls, corresponding to the axial direction, of the upper die body 1 and the lower die body 2 from one end to the other end, each pressure groove in the upper die body 1 and the lower die body 2 is respectively arranged along the circumferential direction of the pressure groove, penetrating mounting holes 3 are respectively formed in the side walls, corresponding to the axial direction, of one end to the other end of the upper die body 1 and the axial direction, of the lower die body 2, heating pipes 4 are respectively arranged in the mounting holes 3 in a penetrating mode, a first heating pipe socket is arranged in a pressing ring at one end of the upper roller 1901, and a second heating pipe socket is arranged in a pressing ring at one end of the lower roller 1902; the heating pipes 4 are respectively and electrically connected with the corresponding first heating pipe sockets and the corresponding second heating pipe sockets, the control cabinet of the roll forging machine controls the start-stop and the rotating speed of the upper roll shaft and the lower roll shaft through the motors controlling the upper roll shaft and the lower roll shaft, and the control cabinet controls the heating state of the heating pipes through the temperature control device.

The heating pipe can heat the temperatures of the upper die body and the lower die body, so that the temperature of the workpiece to be machined is kept at a relative temperature in the roll forging process, and the blank making quality is not influenced by the too fast temperature reduction of the workpiece to be machined in the roll forging process.

Specifically, the indent on the upper die body 1 at least comprises a first indent 6, a second indent 7, a third indent 8 and a fourth indent 9 in sequence from one end to the other end, and the cross-sectional shapes of the first indent 6, the second indent 7, the third indent 8 and the fourth indent 9 are semicircular.

More specifically, the press grooves on the lower die body 2 at least comprise a fifth press groove 10, a sixth press groove 11, a seventh press groove 12 and an eighth press groove 13 from one end to the other end in sequence, the cross-sectional shapes of the fifth press groove 10, the sixth press groove 11, the seventh press groove 12 and the eighth press groove 13 are semicircular, in the roll forging blank of the upper die body 1 and the lower die body 2, the fifth press groove 10 corresponds to the shape and position of the first press groove 6, the sixth press groove 11 corresponds to the shape and position of the second press groove 7, the seventh press groove 12 corresponds to the shape and position of the third press groove 8, and the eighth press groove 13 corresponds to the shape and position of the fourth press groove 9, so that smooth roll forging of a workpiece to be machined is facilitated.

In some embodiments, the grooves of the first pressing groove 6, the second pressing groove 7, the third pressing groove 8, the fourth pressing groove 9, the fifth pressing groove 10, the sixth pressing groove 11, the seventh pressing groove 12 and the eighth pressing groove 13 are all arranged along the axial direction of the corresponding die in a widening manner, so that the rolling forging of the workpiece to be machined is facilitated, the buffering effect is achieved, and the duration of the die is prolonged.

In other embodiments, a plug 5 is connected in the other end hole of the mounting hole 3 to prevent the side leakage of the heating pipe and further ensure the position stability of the heating pipe.

In other embodiments, a first flange 15 is arranged on one end face of the upper die body 1 along the circumferential direction, a first groove 16 is arranged on the other end face along the circumferential direction, two ends of the mounting hole corresponding to the upper die body 1 are respectively located in the first flange 15 and the first groove 16, a second flange 17 is arranged on one end face of the lower die body 2 along the circumferential direction, a second groove 18 is arranged on the other end face along the circumferential direction, two ends of the mounting hole corresponding to the lower die body 2 are respectively located in the second flange 17 and the second groove 18, and the first flange 15 and the first groove 16 arranged on two ends of the upper die body 1 are respectively connected to the compression ring grooves and the bosses at two ends of the upper roll shaft in a one-to-one correspondence manner; second flanges 17 and second grooves 18 arranged at two ends of the lower die body 2 are respectively connected in the clamp ring grooves and on the bosses at two ends of the lower roll shaft in a one-to-one correspondence manner. The upper die body and the lower die body can be stably fixed on the upper roll shaft and the lower roll shaft, and effective roll forging is guaranteed.

Specifically, the groove wall half-diameter R1 of the concave side surface of the first groove isThe groove wall half diameter R2 of the convex side surface isThe inner side wall of the upper die body is half-crossed R3The half-diameter of the outer side wall is R4The inner side wall of the upper die body is precisely attached to the outer side wall of the upper roller shaft; the half-diameter of the inner side wall of the lower die body is 180 DEG^+0.2mm, and the concrete inside wall of lower mould is laminated with the lateral wall of lower roll axle is accurate.

The axial length L of the upper die body is

In other embodiments, the upper die body 1 and the lower die body 2 are both provided with hoisting holes 14 for facilitating hoisting, the hoisting holes 14 are arranged on the outer side wall between two adjacent pressure grooves, and the hoisting holes 14 are blind holes with internal threads. The installation of the upper die body and the lower die body is facilitated through the hoisting holes.

In other embodiments, the groove wall radius R5 of the concave side surface of the first flange isThe groove wall half diameter R6 of the convex side surface is

Specifically, when the upper die body and the lower die body are in working positions with convex surfaces opposite to each other, the mounting gap d between the outer side walls of the upper die body and the lower die body is 6 mm.

The invention relates to an installation step of a roll forging blank making die of an aluminum alloy forging control arm;

step 1: the installation lower mould is concrete, twists into the concrete hoist and mount hole of lower mould downthehole with rings, specifically hangs the lower mould with the overhead traveling crane on the roll forging machine, and the precision of the lower roll shaft of the concrete inside wall of lower mould and roll forging machine is laminated, screws up the clamp ring that roll shaft tip set up down, makes recess and the boss laminating on the clamp ring, pulls down rings, and the concrete installation of lower mould is accomplished.

Step 2: the mould body is installed, the hoisting holes of the mould body are screwed in the hoisting holes of the hoisting ring, the mould body is hoisted to the roll forging machine by the crown block, the inner side wall of the mould body and the upper roll shaft of the roll forging machine are precisely attached, the grooves and the flanges at two ends of the mould body correspond to the bosses and the grooves on the compression rings at two ends of the upper roll shaft respectively, the bolts are screwed up and fixed, the hoisting ring is detached, and the installation of the mould body is completed.

Specifically, the roll forging machine of the invention adopts a 560 type roll forging machine.

The shape of the pressure groove in the roll forging die is changed into ellipse-circle-ellipse-circle, specifically, a round bar is roll forged into an ellipse in the first step, the ellipse is roll forged into a circle in the second step, the circle is roll forged into an ellipse in the third step, the ellipse is roll forged into a circle in the fourth step, and a product is machined and formed.

When the temperature of the die is lower than the required value, the upper die body and the lower die body are heated through the temperature control device in the control cabinet, and when the temperature of the die is higher than the required value, the temperature control device is disconnected, and the upper die body and the lower die body are naturally cooled. The roll forging quality of the workpiece to be machined is improved.

When the roll forging die is used for manufacturing the control arm blank, the plurality of press grooves on the upper die body and the lower die body are arranged to form the die, so that raw materials are saved, and a streamline is obtained in the length direction of the blank; four-pass groove pressing roll forging is adopted to manufacture the blank, the shape of the grooves can be changed, the blank is deformed uniformly in each groove, and the structure is compact; the upper die body and the lower die body are respectively provided with a mounting hole, a heating pipe is arranged in the mounting holes, the heating pipe is connected with a temperature control device of the control cabinet, the temperature of the upper die body and the temperature of the lower die body are controlled through the temperature control device, the temperature reduction degree of blanks caused by the dies is reduced, and the quality of roll forging products is improved. The roll forging blank making die has wide application prospect in the production of the forging industry.

For the device and the using method disclosed by the embodiment, the description is simple because the device and the using method correspond to the method disclosed by the embodiment, and the relevant points can be referred to the description of the method part.

The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.