阅读说明：本技术 一种可调点肥量的掘土式点肥机 (Digging type fertilizer dibbling machine capable of adjusting fertilizer dibbling amount ) 是由 桑明喆 于 2019-09-04 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种可调点肥量的掘土式点肥机,其特征是：包括点料管、储料框、螺旋递料杆和挡料板为主体；所述点料管上端设有与之固定连接的固定把,且在固定把上设有活动把；所述点料管底部设有一号掘土瓣和二号掘土瓣,且一号掘土瓣和二号掘土瓣中间分别设置有对称的条形调节槽、翘杆、挡料板和调节螺柱；所述翘杆与活动把之间设有钢丝拉绳连接,且在点料管内设有与点料管固定连接的安装管保护钢丝拉绳；本发明通过钢丝拉绳带动一号掘土瓣和二号掘土瓣张开的同时使植物根部土壤被掘开形成窝状,同时挡料板上的肥料落下,设计巧妙,使用便捷,让肥料留在掘开的土窝里不易流失,操作简单。(The invention relates to a soil digging type fertilizer dibbling machine with adjustable fertilizer dibbling amount, which is characterized in that: comprises a material dispensing pipe, a material storage frame, a spiral material conveying rod and a material baffle plate as main bodies; the upper end of the material dispensing pipe is provided with a fixed handle fixedly connected with the material dispensing pipe, and the fixed handle is provided with a movable handle; a first digging lobe and a second digging lobe are arranged at the bottom of the material dispensing pipe, and a strip-shaped adjusting groove, a raised rod, a material baffle plate and an adjusting stud are symmetrically arranged between the first digging lobe and the second digging lobe respectively; the tilting rod is connected with the movable handle through a steel wire pull rope, and an installation pipe protection steel wire pull rope fixedly connected with the material dispensing pipe is arranged in the material dispensing pipe; according to the invention, the first digging petal and the second digging petal are driven to open through the steel wire pull rope, meanwhile, the soil at the root of the plant is dug to form a nest shape, meanwhile, the fertilizer on the baffle plate falls down, the design is ingenious, the use is convenient, the fertilizer is not easy to run off when being left in the dug soil nest, and the operation is simple.)

1. A digging type fertilizer dibbling machine with adjustable fertilizer dibbling amount is characterized in that: comprises a material dispensing pipe, a material storage frame, a spiral material conveying rod and a material baffle plate as main bodies; the bottom of the material storage frame is in arc transition, a rotating shaft which penetrates through the material storage frame and can rotate is arranged on the side surface of the material storage frame, and the spiral material conveying rod is positioned at the bottom of the material storage frame and fixed on the rotating shaft; the upper end of the material dispensing pipe is provided with a fixed handle fixedly connected with the material dispensing pipe, and the fixed handle is provided with a movable handle; a first digging lobe and a second digging lobe are arranged at the bottom of the material dispensing pipe, and a strip-shaped adjusting groove, a raised rod, a material baffle plate and an adjusting stud are symmetrically arranged between the first digging lobe and the second digging lobe respectively; the tilting rod is connected with the movable handle through a steel wire pull rope, an installation pipe fixedly connected with the material dispensing pipe is arranged in the material dispensing pipe to protect the steel wire pull rope, and when the material dispensing pipe is filled with fertilizer, the steel wire pull rope cannot be influenced by the extrusion of the fertilizer; the bottom of the material dispensing pipe is provided with a material blocking piece, the material blocking piece is made of a hard rubber material with uniform elasticity, and when the pressure of fertilizer in the material conveying pipe is continuously increased, the fertilizer in the material dispensing pipe can prop against the material blocking piece to enter a space defined by the material blocking plate and the first digging valve and the second digging valve; the bottom of the point material pipe is provided with a fixed shaft which penetrates through the edge of the point material pipe, the warping rod is connected onto the point material pipe through the fixed shaft, and the warping rod can rotate around the fixed shaft, so that the first soil excavating lobe and the second soil excavating lobe can be opened or closed around the bottom of the point material pipe.

2. The soil-excavating type fertilizer distributor capable of regulating fertilizer distribution quantity according to claim 1, characterized in that: the spiral material conveying rod is arranged at the front end of the material storage frame and is connected with the material dispensing pipe, and the material conveying pipe is arranged between the material inlet of the material storage frame and the material dispensing pipe, so that the spiral material conveying rod can push the fertilizer in the material storage frame into the material dispensing pipe through the material conveying pipe.

3. The soil-excavating type fertilizer distributor capable of regulating fertilizer distribution quantity according to claim 1, characterized in that: the storage frame is located the spiral and passes material pole both sides and be equipped with the water conservancy diversion face, and the slope form is personally submitted to the water conservancy diversion, and the waste material of being convenient for rolls and falls to the spiral and passes on the material pole.

4. The soil-excavating type fertilizer distributor capable of regulating fertilizer distribution quantity according to claim 1, characterized in that: the storage frame is provided with straps, so that a person can conveniently carry the storage frame on the back; the positions of the rotating shaft, which are positioned at the two sides of the material storage frame, are respectively provided with a limiting buckle which is clamped on the rotating shaft, so that the position relation between the rotating shaft and the material storage frame in the rotating process is conveniently limited; the rotating shaft is arranged at one end of the outer side of the material storage frame and is provided with a rocking handle fixedly connected with the material storage frame, the rotating shaft drives the spiral material conveying rod to rotate through rotating the rocking handle, and the operation is simple.

5. The soil-excavating type fertilizer distributor capable of regulating fertilizer distribution quantity according to claim 1, characterized in that: the movable handle is V-shaped, a movable shaft is arranged in the middle of the movable handle and penetrates through the fixed handle, the movable handle can rotate around the movable shaft, and a pressing groove is formed in the movable handle, so that fingers can be conveniently pressed.

6. The soil-excavating type fertilizer distributor capable of regulating fertilizer distribution quantity according to claim 1, characterized in that: the first digging half and the second digging half form a conical shape when being closed, so that the digging half can be conveniently poked into soil.

7. The soil-excavating type fertilizer distributor capable of regulating fertilizer distribution quantity according to claim 1, characterized in that: the adjusting stud is positioned on the strip-shaped adjusting groove and can slide up and down in the strip-shaped adjusting groove, pressing gasket groups are respectively arranged on two sides of the adjusting stud, which are positioned on the strip-shaped adjusting groove, so that the adjusting stud is pressed on the strip-shaped adjusting groove, the pressing gasket groups on the inner side of the strip-shaped adjusting groove are fixedly connected with the adjusting stud, and the pressing gasket groups on the outer side of the strip-shaped adjusting groove are movably connected with the adjusting stud; and a locking nut is arranged outside the strip-shaped adjusting groove on the adjusting stud and matched with the adjusting stud, so that the position relation between the adjusting stud and the strip-shaped adjusting groove is limited after locking.

8. The soil-excavating type fertilizer distributor capable of regulating fertilizer distribution quantity according to claim 1, characterized in that: the material blocking plate is fixedly connected to the inner side end, located at the bar-shaped adjusting groove, of the adjusting stud, rubber blocking pieces are arranged between the material blocking plate and the first digging petal and between the material blocking plate and the second digging petal respectively, after the position relation between the adjusting stud and the bar-shaped adjusting groove is convenient to change, the material blocking plate is always pressed on the first digging petal and the second digging petal through the rubber blocking pieces fixedly connected with the edges, and therefore the material blocking plate, the first digging petal and the second digging petal can be enclosed to form spaces with different volumes for containing waste materials, the amount of the waste materials of dibbling can be adjusted, and the design is ingenious.

9. The soil-excavating type fertilizer distributor capable of regulating fertilizer distribution quantity according to claim 1, characterized in that: the two ends of the fixing shaft are provided with elastic compression springs, the two ends of each elastic compression spring are always pressed against the material dispensing pipe and the first digging flap and the second digging flap respectively, the elastic compression springs enable the first digging flap and the second digging flap to be in a closed state in a natural state through elasticity of the elastic compression springs, and the first digging flap and the second digging flap can be conveniently inserted into soil to dig out a soil pit when fertilizer is dispensed.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of agricultural production equipment, in particular to a digging type fertilizer dibber with adjustable fertilizer dibbling amount.

Background

In the conventional crop planting, agricultural manual tools are required for digging pits and dibbling, such as a hoe, a pick-hoe or a shovel for digging pits, and manual fertilization is carried out while digging pits, so that the labor amount is large, the efficiency is low, the fertilization amount is uneven, and the dibbling amount is not adjustable; the current earth auger mostly is boring body formula structure, though dig cave efficiency and dig the cave than the manual work and improve to some extent, can not realize the regulation of some fertile volume, and the operation is comparatively troublesome, and the fertilization mostly is spilt fertile, and fertilizer waste is more serious, hardly accomplishes to dig the pit in process of production after the fertile even of some fertilizer. And the traditional fertilizer dropping machine is easy to cause mud to block a fertilizer outlet while digging a pit, so that the fertilizer dropping machine is inconvenient to use, and the fertilizer dropping machine capable of automatically dropping the fertilizer while digging the soil is designed, and is simple to operate.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the problems, the invention provides a digging type fertilizer dibbling machine with adjustable fertilizer dibbling amount.

The technical scheme adopted by the invention for solving the technical problems is as follows: a digging type fertilizer dibbling machine with adjustable fertilizer dibbling amount is characterized in that: comprises a material dispensing pipe, a material storage frame, a spiral material conveying rod and a material baffle plate as main bodies; the bottom of the material storage frame is in arc transition, a rotating shaft which penetrates through the material storage frame and can rotate is arranged on the side surface of the material storage frame, and the spiral material conveying rod is positioned at the bottom of the material storage frame and fixed on the rotating shaft; the upper end of the material dispensing pipe is provided with a fixed handle fixedly connected with the material dispensing pipe, and the fixed handle is provided with a movable handle; a first digging lobe and a second digging lobe are arranged at the bottom of the material dispensing pipe, and a strip-shaped adjusting groove, a raised rod, a material baffle plate and an adjusting stud are symmetrically arranged between the first digging lobe and the second digging lobe respectively; the tilting rod is connected with the movable handle through a steel wire pull rope, an installation pipe fixedly connected with the material dispensing pipe is arranged in the material dispensing pipe to protect the steel wire pull rope, and when the material dispensing pipe is filled with fertilizer, the steel wire pull rope cannot be influenced by the extrusion of the fertilizer; the bottom of the material dispensing pipe is provided with a material blocking piece, the material blocking piece is made of a hard rubber material with uniform elasticity, and when the pressure of fertilizer in the material conveying pipe is continuously increased, the fertilizer in the material dispensing pipe can prop against the material blocking piece to enter a space defined by the material blocking plate and the first digging valve and the second digging valve; the bottom of the point material pipe is provided with a fixed shaft which penetrates through the edge of the point material pipe, the warping rod is connected onto the point material pipe through the fixed shaft, and the warping rod can rotate around the fixed shaft, so that the first soil excavating lobe and the second soil excavating lobe can be opened or closed around the bottom of the point material pipe.

Preferably, the front end of the spiral material conveying rod on the material storage frame is provided with a feeding hole, a material conveying pipe is arranged between the feeding hole on the material storage frame and the material dispensing pipe and connected with the feeding hole, and the spiral material conveying rod is convenient to push the fertilizer in the material storage frame into the material dispensing pipe through the material conveying pipe.

Preferably, the storage frame is located the spiral and passes material pole both sides and be equipped with the water conservancy diversion face, and the water conservancy diversion is personally submitted the slope form, and the waste material of being convenient for rolls and falls to the spiral and passes on the material pole.

Preferably, the storage frame is provided with a strap, so that a person can conveniently carry the storage frame on the back; the positions of the rotating shaft, which are positioned at the two sides of the material storage frame, are respectively provided with a limiting buckle which is clamped on the rotating shaft, so that the position relation between the rotating shaft and the material storage frame in the rotating process is conveniently limited; the rotating shaft is arranged at one end of the outer side of the material storage frame and is provided with a rocking handle fixedly connected with the material storage frame, the rotating shaft drives the spiral material conveying rod to rotate through rotating the rocking handle, and the operation is simple.

Preferably, the movable handle is in a V shape, a movable shaft is arranged in the middle of the movable handle and penetrates through the fixed handle, the movable handle can rotate around the movable shaft, and a pressing groove is formed in the movable handle, so that fingers can be conveniently pressed.

Preferably, the first digging half and the second digging half form a conical shape when being closed, so that the digging half can be conveniently poked into soil.

Preferably, the adjusting stud is positioned on the strip-shaped adjusting groove and can slide up and down in the strip-shaped adjusting groove, pressing gasket groups are respectively arranged on two sides of the adjusting stud, which are positioned on the strip-shaped adjusting groove, so that the adjusting stud is pressed on the strip-shaped adjusting groove, the pressing gasket groups on the inner side of the strip-shaped adjusting groove are fixedly connected with the adjusting stud, and the pressing gasket groups on the outer side of the strip-shaped adjusting groove are movably connected with the adjusting stud; and a locking nut is arranged outside the strip-shaped adjusting groove on the adjusting stud and matched with the adjusting stud, so that the position relation between the adjusting stud and the strip-shaped adjusting groove is limited after locking.

Preferably, the striker plate is fixedly connected to the inner side end, located in the strip-shaped adjusting groove, of the adjusting stud, and rubber separation blades are arranged between the striker plate and the first digging petal and the second digging petal respectively, so that after the position relation between the adjusting stud and the strip-shaped adjusting groove is changed conveniently, the striker plate is always pressed on the first digging petal and the second digging petal through the rubber separation blades fixedly connected to the edges, and therefore the space, with different volumes, formed by the striker plate, the first digging petal and the second digging petal can be enclosed to contain waste materials, the amount of the waste materials of point planting can be adjusted, and the design is ingenious.

Preferably, elastic compression springs are arranged at two ends of the fixed shaft, two ends of each elastic compression spring are always pressed against the material dispensing pipe and the first digging flap and the second digging flap respectively, the elastic compression springs enable the first digging flap and the second digging flap to be in a closed state in a natural state through elasticity of the elastic compression springs, and the first digging flap and the second digging flap can be conveniently inserted into soil to dig out of a soil pit when fertilizers are dispensed.

The invention has the beneficial effects that: the first digging petal and the second digging petal are driven to open through the steel wire pull rope, meanwhile, the soil at the root of the plant is dug to form a nest shape, and meanwhile, the fertilizer on the baffle plate falls down, so that the design is ingenious, the use is convenient, and the fertilizer is not easy to run off when being left in the dug soil nest; and the point fertilizer amount is adjusted through the space enclosed by the striker plate and the first digging segment and the second digging segment, so that the operation is simple.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the soil-digging type fertilizer distributor with adjustable fertilizer distribution.

Fig. 2 is an axonometric view of the soil-digging type fertilizer distributor with adjustable fertilizer distribution.

Fig. 3 is a partial enlarged view of a soil-digging type fertilizer distributor A with adjustable fertilizer distribution shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a partial enlarged view of the soil-excavating type fertilizer-applying machine D with adjustable fertilizer applying amount shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a front view of the soil-digging type fertilizer distributor with adjustable fertilizer distribution.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the soil-excavating type fertilizer-applying machine B-B with adjustable fertilizer applying amount shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a cut-away perspective view of the soil-digging type fertilizer-applying machine B-B with adjustable fertilizer application amount shown in FIG. 5.

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view at C-C of the soil-excavating type fertilizer-applying machine with adjustable fertilizer applying amount shown in fig. 5.

FIG. 9 is a cut-away perspective view of the soil-digging type fertilizer-applying machine C-C with adjustable fertilizer application amount shown in FIG. 5.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged view of the soil-excavating type fertilizer distributor E with the adjustable fertilizer distribution amount shown in fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged view of the soil-excavating type fertilizer distributor F with adjustable fertilizer distribution shown in fig. 9.

In the figure: 1. a material storage frame 12, a material pouring port 13, braces 14, a flow guide surface 15 and a material inlet; 2. the device comprises a rotating shaft 21, a limiting buckle 22, a rocking handle 23 and a spiral material conveying rod; 3. a material conveying pipe 31, a material dispensing pipe 32 and an installation pipe; 4. a fixed handle 41, a movable handle 42, a pressing groove 43 and a movable shaft; 5. a first digging lobe 51, a second digging lobe 52, a strip-shaped adjusting groove 53 and a raising rod; 6. the adjusting stud 61, the locking nut 62 and the compression gasket group; 7. a striker plate 71, a rubber catch; 8. material blocking pieces 81 and material leakage openings; 9. a fixed shaft 91 and an elastic pressure spring; 101. and (5) pulling a steel wire rope.

Detailed Description

In order to make the technical solution of the present invention more apparent, the present invention is further described with reference to the following embodiments.

As shown in figures 1-11, the invention relates to a soil-digging type fertilizer dibber with adjustable fertilizer dibbling amount, which is characterized in that: comprises a material dispensing pipe 31, a material storage frame 1, a spiral material conveying rod 23 and a material baffle plate 7 as main bodies; the bottom of the storage frame 1 is in arc transition, a rotating shaft 2 which penetrates through the storage frame 1 and can rotate is arranged on the side face of the storage frame 1, and a spiral material conveying rod 23 is positioned at the bottom of the storage frame 1 and fixed on the rotating shaft 2; the upper end of the material dispensing pipe 31 is provided with a fixed handle 4 fixedly connected with the material dispensing pipe, and the fixed handle 4 is provided with a movable handle 41; a first digging lobe 5 and a second digging lobe 51 are arranged at the bottom of the material dispensing pipe 31, and a symmetrical strip-shaped adjusting groove 52, a raised rod 53, a material baffle 7 and an adjusting stud 6 are respectively arranged between the first digging lobe 5 and the second digging lobe 51; the tilting rod 53 is connected with the movable handle 41 through a steel wire pull rope 101, the point material pipe 31 is internally provided with a mounting pipe 32 fixedly connected with the point material pipe 31 to protect the steel wire pull rope 101, and when the point material pipe 31 is filled with fertilizer, the steel wire pull rope 101 cannot be influenced by the extrusion of the fertilizer; the material blocking piece 8 is arranged at the bottom of the material dispensing pipe 31, the material blocking piece 8 is made of a hard rubber material with uniform elasticity, and when the pressure of fertilizer in the material delivery pipe 3 is continuously increased, the fertilizer in the material dispensing pipe 31 can push the material blocking piece 8 to enter a space formed by the material blocking plate, the first soil digging flap 5 and the second soil digging flap 51; the fixed shaft 9 is arranged at the bottom of the point material pipe 31 and penetrates through the edge of the point material pipe 31, the warping rod 53 is connected to the point material pipe 31 through the fixed shaft 9, and the warping rod 53 can rotate around the fixed shaft 9, so that the first soil excavating lobe 5 and the second soil excavating lobe 51 can be opened or closed around the bottom of the point material pipe 31.

In this embodiment, it is equipped with feed inlet 15 to be located the spiral at storage frame 1 and pass the material pole 23 front end, and is equipped with conveying pipeline 3 and is connected between feed inlet 15 and the material pipe 31 of some on storage frame 1, and the spiral of being convenient for is passed the material pole 23 and is impeld some material pipes 31 with the fertilizer in storage frame 1 through conveying pipeline 3.

In this embodiment, the storage frame 1 is provided with the diversion surfaces 14 at two sides of the spiral material conveying rod 23, and the diversion surfaces 14 are inclined, so that the waste material can fall onto the spiral material conveying rod 23 conveniently.

In this embodiment, the storage frame 1 is provided with a back belt 13, so that a person can conveniently carry on the back; the positions of the rotating shaft 2, which are positioned at the two sides of the material storage frame 1, are respectively provided with a limiting buckle 21 which is clamped on the rotating shaft 2, so that the position relation between the rotating shaft 2 and the material storage frame 1 in the rotating process is convenient to limit; the rocking handle 22 fixedly connected with the rotating shaft 2 is arranged at one end of the rotating shaft 2, which is positioned at the outer side of the material storage frame 1, and the rotating shaft 2 drives the spiral material conveying rod 23 to rotate by rotating the rocking handle 22, so that the operation is simple.

In this embodiment, the movable handle 41 is in a V-shape, a movable shaft 43 is disposed in the middle of the movable handle 41 and penetrates through the fixed handle 4, the movable handle 41 can rotate around the movable shaft 43, and a pressing groove 42 is disposed on the movable handle 41 for facilitating the pressing of fingers.

In the embodiment, the first digging half 5 and the second digging half 51 form a conical shape when being closed, so that the digging half can be conveniently poked into soil.

In the embodiment, the adjusting stud 6 is located on the strip-shaped adjusting groove 52, the adjusting stud 6 can slide up and down in the strip-shaped adjusting groove 52, the two sides of the adjusting stud 6, which are located on the strip-shaped adjusting groove 52, are respectively provided with a pressing gasket group 62, the adjusting stud 6 is pressed on the strip-shaped adjusting groove 52, the pressing gasket group 62 on the inner side of the strip-shaped adjusting groove 52 is fixedly connected with the adjusting stud 6, and the pressing gasket group 62 on the outer side of the strip-shaped adjusting groove 52 is movably connected with the adjusting stud 6; and a locking nut 61 is arranged outside the adjusting stud 6 positioned in the strip-shaped adjusting groove 52 and matched with the adjusting stud 6, so that the position relation between the adjusting stud 6 and the strip-shaped adjusting groove 52 is limited after locking.

In this embodiment, the striker plate 7 is fixedly connected to the inner end of the adjusting stud 6 located in the strip-shaped adjusting groove 52, and rubber blocking pieces 71 are arranged between the striker plate 7 and the first soil excavating lobe 5 and the second soil excavating lobe 51 respectively, so that after the position relationship between the adjusting stud 6 and the strip-shaped adjusting groove 52 is changed, the striker plate 7 is always pressed on the first soil excavating lobe 5 and the second soil excavating lobe 51 through the rubber blocking pieces 71 fixedly connected to the edges, and thus the space of different volumes can be enclosed by the striker plate 7 and the first soil excavating lobe 5 and the second soil excavating lobe 51 for loading waste materials, so that the amount of the waste materials to be dibbled can be adjusted, and the design is ingenious.

In this embodiment, two ends of the fixed shaft 9 are provided with elastic compression springs 91, two ends of each elastic compression spring 91 always abut against the material dispensing pipe 31 and the first soil excavating valve 5 and the second soil excavating valve 51, and the elastic compression springs 91 enable the first soil excavating valve 5 and the second soil excavating valve 51 to be in a closed state in a natural state through elasticity of the elastic compression springs, so that the first soil excavating valve 5 and the second soil excavating valve 51 are inserted into soil to dig out a soil pit when fertilizer is dispensed.

When the fertilizer applying device is used, fertilizer is poured into the material pouring opening 12 of the material storage frame 1, the fertilizer is accumulated on the spiral material conveying rod 23 along the guide surface 14, then the back belt 13 is carried, the rocking handle 22 is rotated, and at the moment, the fertilizer is pushed into the material dispensing pipe 31 through the material conveying pipe 3 through the spiral material conveying rod 23.

Further, the fertilizer in the material dispensing pipe 31 is pushed to push the material blocking sheet 8 to fall onto the material blocking plate 7 by the fertilizer which is continuously delivered by the extrusion screw delivery rod 23.

Further, the fixing handle 4 is gripped to insert the point material pipe 31 into soil with the depth of 3cm-5cm of the plant root, then the movable handle 41 is pressed by fingers, the rocking handle 22 stops rotating at the moment, the movable handle 41 drives the first digging lobe 5 and the second digging lobe 51 to open through the steel wire pull rope 101 at the moment, the soil at the plant root is dug to form a nest shape, meanwhile, fertilizer on the material baffle plate 7 falls, the fertilizer in the point material pipe 31 is stopped falling by the blocking of the material baffle plate 8, the point material pipe 31 is pulled out, the movable handle 41 is loosened, and the point fertilizer work of the plant is completed.

Furthermore, after the movable handle 41 is loosened, the first digging lobe 5 and the second digging lobe 51 are closed by the elastic force of the elastic pressure spring 91, the rocking handle 22 is continuously shaken, fertilizer in the material dispensing pipe 31 is extruded to fall into a space surrounded by the material baffle 7, the first digging lobe 5 and the second digging lobe 51, and then next plant seed dispensing is carried out.

The above description is only for the preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art should be considered to be within the technical scope of the present invention, and the technical solutions and the inventive concepts thereof according to the present invention should be equivalent or changed within the scope of the present invention.