Photovoltaic panel frame assembly machine capable of preventing glue from overflowing and leaking
Technical Field
The invention relates to the field of photovoltaic panel assembly, in particular to a photovoltaic panel frame assembly machine capable of preventing glue from overflowing and leaking.
Background
Solar power generation is an emerging renewable energy technology, along with the continuous development of photovoltaic technology, solar cell products serving as semiconductor devices for converting solar energy into electric energy are rapidly developed, solar energy is utilized through photovoltaic panels placed on photovoltaic supports in the market at present, and the photovoltaic panels are utilized for power generation in the aspects of transportation means, urban illumination and the like, pollution is avoided, operation is reliable, and stability is good, so that the photovoltaic panels are widely applied.
The frame is usually required to be assembled around the photovoltaic panel before the photovoltaic panel is installed on the photovoltaic support, so that the strength of the solar cell module is enhanced, the service life of the photovoltaic panel is prolonged, the frame can only be assembled for one side of the photovoltaic panel each time in the prior art, meanwhile, the angle of the photovoltaic panel needs to be adjusted for each time of assembly, glue on the frame is easy to overflow during installation, glue overflow is difficult to avoid in the installation process in the existing installation method, and the finished product effect is poor.
Disclosure of Invention
Accordingly, it is necessary to solve the above problems by providing a photovoltaic panel frame assembly machine capable of automatically and simultaneously assembling four frames around a photovoltaic panel to improve the working efficiency and effectively preventing excessive glue on the frames assembled around the photovoltaic panel from overflowing, so as to solve the problems that the frames cannot be simultaneously installed around the photovoltaic panel and the glue is difficult to overflow.
The technical implementation scheme of the invention is as follows: the utility model provides a prevent photovoltaic board frame kludge of glue overflow leak, including the four corners base, the stake is placed in the fluting, the abnormal shape support portal, the abnormal shape connecting block, the fluting slide rail frame, push down reciprocal crowded gluey mechanism, closure mechanism all around, rotatory equipment mechanism and strengthening mechanism, the stake is placed in the fluting is linked at four corners base top, two pairs of abnormal shape support portal are linked at four corners base top, the hookup has the abnormal shape connecting block on the abnormal shape support portal, the joint has the fluting slide rail frame between the four abnormal shape connecting blocks together, be provided with four pairs of spouts on the fluting slide rail frame, push down reciprocal crowded gluey mechanism locates on the fluting slide rail frame, closure mechanism locates on pushing down reciprocal crowded gluey mechanism all around, rotatory equipment mechanism locates on the fluting place the stake, strengthening mechanism locates on the fluting place stake.
The push-down reciprocating glue extruding mechanism comprises a special-shaped perforated frame, a slotting block, an electric push rod, a special-shaped wedge frame, triangular wedge blocks, slotting slide bars I, slotting slide bars II, a first reset spring, a sliding base, rubber barrels, extruding rods and a second reset spring, wherein the top of the slotting slide bar frame is connected with two pairs of slotting blocks, the special-shaped perforated frame is jointly connected between the two pairs of slotting blocks, the electric push rod is arranged on the special-shaped perforated frame, the special-shaped wedge frame is jointly connected between the two electric push rods, the slotting slide bars I are connected with the slotting slide bars II in a sliding mode, the triangular wedge blocks are contacted with the special-shaped wedge frame, the slotting slide bars I and the slotting slide bars II are connected with the triangular wedge blocks, the slotting slide bars II are connected with the first reset spring, the slotting slide rail frame is connected with four pairs of sliding bases, the rubber barrels are connected with the sliding base, the two pairs of rubber barrels are in a limiting fit with the corresponding slotting slide bars I, the two pairs of rubber barrels are in a limiting fit with the corresponding slotting slide bars II, the rubber barrels are connected with the extruding rods on the sliding base, and the extruding rods are connected with the sliding bars II and the sliding slide bars are matched with the sliding rails.
Optionally, the four-side closing mechanism comprises a countersunk shaft I, a thickening gear, a countersunk shaft II, a driving plate, a first gear, a first rack and a second rack, wherein the countersunk shaft I is rotatably connected to the special-shaped perforated rack, the thickening gear is connected to the countersunk shaft I, the countersunk shaft II is rotatably connected to the special-shaped perforated rack, one end of the countersunk shaft II is connected to the driving plate, the driving plate is also arranged at the bottom end of the countersunk shaft I, the two driving plates are in contact fit with each other, the other end of the countersunk shaft II is connected with the first gear, the top of the special-shaped wedge-shaped rack is connected with the first rack, the first rack is meshed with the thickening gear, the first racks are arranged in a staggered mode, the second rack is connected to the rotary assembly mechanism, the second rack is meshed with the thickening gear, and the second racks are arranged in a staggered mode.
The rotary assembly mechanism comprises a third rack, a first special-shaped rack, a second special-shaped rack, a fourth rack, a first rotating shaft, a second gear, a slotting swing frame, a wedge-shaped clamping block and a first tension spring, wherein two pairs of third racks are connected to the slotting placement pile, a first special-shaped rack is connected to the slotting placement pile in a sliding mode, a second special-shaped rack is connected to the first special-shaped rack in a sliding mode, a second rack is connected to the second special-shaped rack in a sliding mode, two pairs of fourth racks are connected to the slotting placement pile in a sliding mode, a first rotating shaft is connected to the first special-shaped rack in a rotating mode, a second gear is connected to the first rotating shaft in a sliding mode, a wedge-shaped clamping block is connected to the slotting swing frame in a sliding mode, and a first tension spring is connected between the wedge-shaped clamping block and the slotting swing frame.
Optionally, the reinforcing mechanism comprises a chute strip, a reinforcing sliding frame and a third reset spring, wherein two pairs of chute strips are connected to the slotted placing pile, the reinforcing sliding frame is connected to the chute strips in a sliding mode, and the third reset spring is connected between the reinforcing sliding frame and the chute strips.
Optionally, the special-shaped support portal is further provided with a pushing mechanism, the pushing mechanism is arranged on the special-shaped support portal, the pushing mechanism comprises an N-shaped grooving frame, a blanking plate, a pushing plate, a second extension spring, a fourth extension spring, a fixed block, a second rotating shaft, a third gear, a second rack and a third rack, the N-shaped grooving frame is connected to the special-shaped support portal, the blanking plate is connected to the blanking plate in a sliding mode on the N-shaped grooving frame, the blanking plate is contacted with the grooving swinging frame, the blanking plate is contacted with the wedge-shaped clamping block, the pushing plate is connected to the blanking plate in a sliding mode on the special-shaped connecting block, a pair of second extension springs are connected between the pushing plate and the special-shaped connecting block, a pair of fourth extension springs are connected between the blanking plate and the N-shaped grooving frame, the second rotating shaft is connected to the second fixing block in a rotating mode, the second rack is connected to the second rotating shaft, the second rack is connected to the bottom of the blanking plate, the second rack is meshed with the third gear, the first rack is connected to the special-shaped sliding rail frame, and the third rack is meshed with the third gear.
Compared with the prior art, the invention has the following advantages:
through the cooperation of fluting slide rail frame, extrusion pole and rubber bucket, fluting slide rail frame can promote the extrusion pole and move towards the direction of keeping away from abnormal shape support portal for the extrusion pole extrudes the rubber bucket, thereby makes glue in the rubber bucket extruded to the frame recess on the fluting swing frame, and follow-up equipment work of being convenient for has reached can extrude the effect on the frame with glue automatically.
Through the cooperation of rack three and wedge fixture block and last device, the frame on the wedge fixture block will fluting swing frame is blocked, and the rack three can drive second gear and last device rotation 90, and the four sides frame that glues glue later can closely laminate around with the photovoltaic board on the fluting place stake, has reached can be automatically with four sides frame simultaneously the assembly at photovoltaic board effect all around.
Through strengthening the balladeur train, consolidate the balladeur train and can consolidate the frame of equipment around the photovoltaic board, consolidate the balladeur train simultaneously and can prevent that the unnecessary glue from spilling over on the frame around the photovoltaic board to can improve the quality of the photovoltaic board that the equipment is good, reach the effect that can prevent effectively that the unnecessary glue from spilling over on the frame around the photovoltaic board.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a partial perspective structure of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a first part of the pressing-down reciprocating paste ejection mechanism according to the invention.
Fig. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a second part of the pressing-down reciprocating paste ejection mechanism according to the invention.
Fig. 6 is a schematic view of a part of a peripheral closure mechanism according to the present invention.
Fig. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the present invention a.
Fig. 8 is a schematic perspective view of a first part of the rotary assembly mechanism of the present invention.
Fig. 9 is a schematic perspective view of a second part of the rotary assembly mechanism of the present invention.
Fig. 10 is a schematic perspective view of a reinforcement mechanism according to the present invention.
Fig. 11 is a schematic perspective view of a first part of a pushing mechanism according to the present invention.
Fig. 12 is a schematic perspective view of a second part of the pushing mechanism of the present invention.
The marks of the components in the drawings are as follows: 1: four corners base, 2: grooving pile placement, 3: special-shaped support portal frame, 4: abnormal shape connecting block, 5: slotted slide rail frame, 6: pressing down the reciprocating glue squeezing mechanism, 61: abnormal shape trompil frame 6101: slotted block, 62: electric putter, 63: profile wedge rack, 64: triangle wedge, 66: grooved slide bar one, 67: slotted slide bar two, 68: first return spring, 69: slide base, 610: rubber barrel, 611: extrusion rod, 612: second return spring, 7: four-sided closure mechanism, 71: countersunk shaft one, 72: thickened gear, 73: countersunk head shaft two, 74: dial, 75: first gear, 76: first rack, 77: rack one, 78: rack two, 8: rotation assembly mechanism, 81: rack three, 82: profiled slide rail frame one, 83: profiled slide rail frame two, 84: rack four, 85: rotation axis one, 86: second gear, 87: slotting swing frame, 88: wedge fixture block, 89: first extension spring, 9: reinforcing mechanism, 91: chute bar, 92: reinforcing carriage, 93: third return spring, 10: pushing equipment, 101: n-shaped slotted frame, 102: blanking plate, 103: push plate, 104: second extension spring, 105: fourth return spring, 106: fixed block, 107: rotation axis two, 108: third gear, 109: second rack, 110: and a third rack.
Detailed Description
Standard parts used in the invention can be purchased from the market, special-shaped parts can be customized according to the description of the specification and the drawings, and the specific connection modes of the parts adopt conventional means such as mature bolts, rivets, welding, pasting and the like in the prior art, and the detailed description is omitted.
Example 1
The utility model provides a prevent photovoltaic board frame kludge of glue overflow leak, as shown in fig. 1-12, including four corners base 1, fluting place the stake 2, abnormal shape support portal 3, abnormal shape connecting block 4, fluting slide rail frame 5, push down reciprocal crowded gluey mechanism 6, closure mechanism 7 all around, rotatory equipment mechanism 8 and strengthening mechanism 9, the hookup of four corners base 1 top has fluting place the stake 2, two pairs of abnormal shape support portal 3 have been linked at four corners base 1 top, the hookup has abnormal shape connecting block 4 on the abnormal shape support portal 3, the common hookup has fluting slide rail frame 5 between the four abnormal shape connecting blocks 4, be provided with four pairs of spouts on the fluting slide rail frame 5, push down reciprocal crowded gluey mechanism 6 is located on the fluting slide rail frame 5, push down reciprocal crowded gluey mechanism 6 is used for extruding glue to the frame, closure mechanism 7 all around is located on reciprocal crowded gluey mechanism 6 pushes down, rotatory equipment mechanism 8 is located fluting place the stake 2, rotatory equipment mechanism 8 is used for assembling four sides frame simultaneously around photovoltaic board, strengthening mechanism 9 is located fluting place stake 2, strengthening mechanism 9 is used for strengthening frame to assemble around photovoltaic board.
The pushing-down reciprocating glue extruding mechanism 6 comprises a special-shaped opening frame 61, a slotting block 6101, an electric push rod 62, a special-shaped wedge frame 63, a triangular wedge block 64, a slotting slide bar I66, a slotting slide bar II 67, a first reset spring 68, a sliding base 69, a rubber barrel 610, a extruding rod 611 and a second reset spring 612, wherein the top of the slotting slide rail frame 5 is connected with two pairs of slotting blocks 6101, the special-shaped opening frame 61 is jointly connected between the slotting blocks 6101, the special-shaped opening frame 61 is provided with a pair of electric push rods 62, the electric push rod 62 is used for driving the special-shaped wedge frame 63 and an upper device thereof to reciprocate up and down, the special-shaped wedge frame 63 is jointly connected between the two electric push rods 62 and is used for pushing the triangular wedge block 64 and the upper device thereof to move around, the slotting slide bar I66 is slidingly connected with the slotting slide bar I66 on the slotting slide bar I66, wherein two pairs of rubber barrels 610 and upper devices thereof move, the other pair of grooved blocks 6101 are connected with a grooved slide bar II 67 in a sliding manner, under the action of the grooved slide bar II 67, the other two pairs of rubber barrels 610 and upper devices thereof move, the grooved slide bar I66 and the grooved slide bar II 67 are both connected with a triangular wedge block 64, the triangular wedge block 64 is contacted with a special-shaped wedge frame 63, a first reset spring 68 is connected between the grooved slide bar I66, the grooved slide bar II 67 and the grooved block 6101, the first reset spring 68 is used for driving the grooved slide bar I66 and the grooved slide bar II 67 to reset, the grooved slide rail frame 5 is connected with four pairs of sliding bases 69 in a sliding manner, the sliding bases 69 are connected with rubber barrels 610, the two pairs of rubber barrels 610 are in limit fit with the corresponding grooved slide bar I66, the other two pairs of rubber barrels 610 are in limit fit with the corresponding grooved slide bar II 67, the rubber barrels 610 are connected with an extrusion rod 611 in a sliding manner, the extrusion rod 611 is used for extruding the rubber barrel 610, the extrusion rod 611 is in sliding fit with the slotted sliding rail frame 5, a second reset spring 612 is connected between the extrusion rod 611 and the sliding base 69, and the second reset spring 612 is used for driving the extrusion rod 611 to reset.
The four-side closing mechanism 7 comprises a countersunk shaft I71, a thickening gear 72, a countersunk shaft II 73, a driving plate 74, a first gear 75, a first gear rack 76, a first gear rack 77 and a second gear rack 78, wherein the countersunk shaft I71 is rotatably connected to the special-shaped perforated frame 61, the thickening gear 72 is connected to the countersunk shaft I71, the thickening gear 72 is used for driving the first gear rack 77, the second gear rack 78 and devices thereon to move in directions close to each other, the countersunk shaft II 73 is rotatably connected to the special-shaped perforated frame 61, one end of the countersunk shaft II 73 is connected to the driving plate 74, the driving plate 74 is also arranged at the bottom end of the countersunk shaft I71, the driving plates 74 are in contact fit with each other, the countersunk shaft I71 and devices thereon can be reversed, the other end of the countersunk shaft II 73 is connected to the first gear rack 75, the top of the special-shaped wedge frame 63 is connected to the first gear rack 76, the first gear rack 76 is used for driving the first gear 75 and the devices thereon to rotate clockwise, the first gear rack 77 is connected to the rotary assembly mechanism 8, the first gear rack 77 is meshed with the thickening gear rack 72, the first gear rack 77 is arranged in a staggered manner, the rotary assembly 78 is connected to the second gear rack 78 is meshed with the second gear rack 78, and the first gear rack 78 is staggered.
The rotary assembly mechanism 8 comprises a third rack 81, a fourth special-shaped rack 82, a second special-shaped rack 83, a fourth rack 84, a first rotating shaft 85, a second gear 86, a slotting swing frame 87, a wedge-shaped clamping block 88 and a first tension spring 89, wherein two pairs of third racks 81 are connected to the slotting placement pile 2, the third rack 81 is used for driving the second gear 86 and the upper device of the second gear 86 to rotate 90 degrees, a first pair of special-shaped rack 82 is connected to the slotting placement pile 2 in a sliding mode, the first special-shaped rack 82 is used for pushing a reinforcing sliding frame 92 to move towards a direction close to the slotting placement pile 2, the first special-shaped rack 82 is connected with the first rack 77, the slotting placement pile 2 is connected with the second special-shaped rack 83 in a sliding mode, the second special-shaped rack 83 is connected with the second rack 78, the slotting placement pile 2 is connected with the fourth rack 84 in a sliding mode, the first rotating shaft 85 is connected with the second gear 86, the first rotating shaft 85 is connected with the slotting swing frame 87 in a sliding mode, the slotting swing frame 87 is connected with the clamping block 88 in a sliding mode, and the wedge-shaped clamping block 88 is used for driving the wedge-shaped clamping block 89 to move upwards, and the wedge-shaped clamping block 88 is connected with the first wedge-shaped clamping block 88.
The reinforcing mechanism 9 comprises a chute strip 91, a reinforcing sliding frame 92 and a third reset spring 93, two pairs of chute strips 91 are connected to the grooved placing pile 2, the reinforcing sliding frame 92 is connected to the chute strip 91 in a sliding mode, the reinforcing sliding frame 92 is used for preventing excessive glue assembled on the peripheral frame of the photovoltaic panel from overflowing, the third reset spring 93 is connected between the reinforcing sliding frame 92 and the chute strip 91, and the third reset spring 93 is used for driving the reinforcing sliding frame 92 to reset.
Glue is filled in the rubber barrel 610 in advance, a plurality of frames are placed on the top of the blanking plate 102 in advance, the frames are placed on the same pair of slotting swinging frames 87, firstly, photovoltaic panels to be assembled are placed on the tops of slotting placing piles 2 by hand, the photovoltaic panels placed on the slotting placing piles 2 are straightened, the electric push rod 62 is controlled to be stretched manually, the special-shaped wedge frame 63 and an upper device thereof move downwards, the special-shaped wedge frame 63 can push the triangular wedge block 64 and the upper device thereof to move around, the first reset spring 68 is compressed along with the triangle wedge block, under the action of the slotting sliding rod one 66, two pairs of rubber barrels 610 and the upper device thereof can move, the other two pairs of rubber barrels 610 and the upper device thereof can move under the action of the slotting sliding rod two 67, the slotting sliding rail frame 5 can push the extrusion rod 611 to move far away from the special-shaped supporting portal 3, and the second reset spring 612 can be compressed along with the extrusion rod 611 to extrude the rubber barrels 610, so that the glue in the rubber barrels 610 can be extruded onto the frames on the slotting swinging frames 87, and the automatic assembly operation can be convenient, and the glue extrusion effect can be achieved.
Then the electric push rod 62 is manually controlled to shrink, the special-shaped wedge-shaped frame 63 and the devices thereon are reset, the first slotted slide rod 66 is reset under the reset action of the two first reset springs 68, the second slotted slide rod 67 is reset under the reset action of the other two first reset springs 68, the rubber barrel 610 is reset, and the extrusion rod 611 is reset under the reset action of the second reset springs 612.
Then, the electric push rod 62 is controlled manually to continue to shrink, so that the special-shaped wedge-shaped frame 63 and the upper device thereof move upwards, the first rack 76 drives the first gear 75 and the upper device thereof to rotate forward, the first countersunk head shaft 71 and the upper device thereof are matched with each other through the two driving plates 74, the thickening gear 72 drives the first rack 77 and the upper device thereof to move towards the direction of approaching each other, meanwhile, the thickening gear 72 drives the second rack 78 and the upper device thereof to move towards the direction of approaching each other, the wedge-shaped clamping block 88 is separated from the blanking plate 102 in the process, the blanking plate 102 does not limit the wedge-shaped clamping block 88 any more, the first stretching spring 89 in a compressed state resets along with the wedge-shaped clamping block 88, so that the wedge-shaped clamping block 88 moves upwards, the frame on the slotting swing frame 87 is clamped by the wedge-shaped clamping block 88, the second gear 86 is contacted with the third rack 81, the third rack 81 drives the second gear 86 and the upper device thereof to rotate 90 degrees, and then the four frames with glue can be tightly attached to the periphery of the photovoltaic plate on the slotting placement pile 2, and the effect of automatically assembling the four sides of the photovoltaic plate at the same time is achieved.
Then, the electric push rod 62 is controlled manually to reset the special-shaped wedge-shaped frame 63 and the upper device thereof, the first rack 76 drives the first gear 75 and the upper device thereof to rotate reversely, the countersunk head shaft one 71 and the upper device thereof rotate clockwise through the mutual matching of the two driving plates 74, the thickened gear 72 drives the rack one 77 and the rack two 78 and the upper device thereof to reset, the rack three 81 drives the second gear 86 and the upper device thereof to reset, the blanking plate 102 presses the wedge-shaped clamping block 88 to reset, and the first stretching spring 89 is stretched accordingly.
In the process that the special-shaped sliding rail frame one 82 and the upper device thereof move towards the directions close to each other, the special-shaped sliding rail frame one 82 can push the reinforcing sliding frame 92 to move towards the directions close to the slotting placement piles 2, and the third reset spring 93 can be compressed accordingly, so that the reinforcing sliding frame 92 reinforces the frame assembled around the photovoltaic panel, and meanwhile, the reinforcing sliding frame 92 can prevent the excessive glue assembled on the frame around the photovoltaic panel from overflowing, thereby improving the quality of the assembled photovoltaic panel and achieving the effect of effectively preventing the excessive glue assembled on the frame around the photovoltaic panel from overflowing.
During the resetting of the profiled rail frame one 82 and the device thereon, the stiffening carriage 92 will then be reset under the resetting action of the third reset spring 93.
Example 2
On the basis of the embodiment 1, as shown in fig. 11-12, the special-shaped support portal 3 is further provided with a pushing mechanism 10, the pushing mechanism 10 is arranged on the special-shaped support portal 3, the pushing mechanism 10 is used for pushing out a frame, the pushing mechanism 10 comprises an N-shaped slotted frame 101, a blanking plate 102, a push plate 102, a second tension spring 104, a fourth return spring 105, a fixed block 106, a second rotating shaft 107, a third gear 108, a second rack 109 and a third rack 110, the special-shaped support portal 3 is connected with the N-shaped slotted frame 101, the blanking plate 102 is connected with the N-shaped slotted frame 101 in a sliding manner, the blanking plate 102 is contacted with the slotted swinging frame 87, the blanking plate 102 is contacted with the wedge-shaped clamping block 88, the special-shaped connecting block 4 is connected with the push plate 103 in a sliding manner, the push plate 103 is contacted with the blanking plate 102, a pair of second tension springs 104 are connected between the push plate 103 and the special-shaped connecting block 4, through the cooperation of push pedal 103 and second extension spring 104, can make push pedal 103 press from both sides the frame on the blanking plate 102 all the time tight, be connected with a pair of fourth reset spring 105 between blanking plate 102 and the N slotted frame 101, fixedly connected with a pair of fixed block 106 on the N slotted frame 101, be connected with pivot two 107 jointly between the fixed block 106 of the same pair, the hookup has third gear 108 on the pivot two 107, third gear 108 is used for driving second rack 109 and upper device towards the direction that is close to abnormal shape support portal 3 motion, the blanking plate 102 bottom is linked with second rack 109, second rack 109 meshes with third gear 108, all be linked with third rack 110 on abnormal shape slide frame one 82 and the abnormal shape slide frame two 83, third rack 110 is used for driving third gear 108 and upper device rotation, third rack 110 meshes with third gear 108.
In the process that the special-shaped sliding rail frame I82 and the special-shaped sliding rail frame II 83 and the upper device thereof move towards the direction close to the slotting placement pile 2, the third rack 110 drives the third gear 108 and the upper device thereof to rotate, the third gear 108 drives the second rack 109 and the upper device thereof to move towards the direction close to the special-shaped support portal 3, the fourth reset spring 105 is compressed along with the second rack, one frame on the blanking plate 102 can drop onto the N-shaped slotting frame 101, the push plate 103 can always clamp the frame on the blanking plate 102 through the cooperation of the push plate 103 and the second tension spring 104, the third rack 110 drives the second rack 109 and the upper device thereof to reset through the third gear 108 in the process that the special-shaped sliding rail frame I82 and the special-shaped sliding rail frame II 83 and the upper device thereof are reset, the fourth reset spring 105 resets along with the third rack, and the blanking plate 102 pushes one frame on the N-shaped slotting frame 101 to the same pair of slotting swinging frames 87 for preparing the next assembly, thus the working efficiency is improved, the frame can be automatically pushed out, the frame can be finally taken out through other equipment, and the photovoltaic push plate 62 can be repeatedly assembled into a photovoltaic panel through the electric control, and the photovoltaic operation can be continuously closed.
The foregoing has shown and described the basic principles and main features of the present invention and the advantages of the present invention. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and that the above embodiments and descriptions are merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention, and various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, which is defined in the appended claims. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.