Sheet metal part grinding-mark-free continuous bending device and bending process thereof
Technical Field
The invention relates to the technical field of sheet metal part bending, in particular to a sheet metal part grinding-mark-free continuous bending device and a bending process thereof.
Background
The sheet metal is a comprehensive cold machining process aiming at a metal sheet, and comprises cold machining processes such as shearing, punching, folding, welding and forming, and the sheet metal is obviously characterized in that the thickness of the same part is consistent, products processed by the sheet metal process are called sheet metal parts, the sheet metal parts in different industries are generally different and are used in various fields such as assembly time, sheet metal processing is widely applied to various fields such as aerospace, automotive electronics, railway locomotives, engineering machinery and the like, sheet metal bending is a key process for forming most parts, the quality of bending directly influences the final shape and performance of the products, factors influencing the sheet metal bending precision are various, such as the accuracy of the unfolding size of accessories, the reasonability of a die selection and a bending sequence and the like, when the workpiece is bent, the workpiece is extruded by an upper die and a lower groove, indentation or scratch occurs to different degrees, for some special materials, certain technological measures are required for protecting an appearance mirror surface, a bending machine is required to be adopted to prepare before bending, paper is paved on the lower groove, if both sides of the workpiece need to be protected, the workpiece can also be paved along the direction of the bending line, a bending machine is required to be protected, and a bending cushion can be used for production under better conditions.
The existing sheet metal part bending equipment has the problems that due to structural design defects, the bending position is deviated due to the fact that a workpiece moves when being bent, and the workpiece is abraded in different degrees due to the fact that a bending machine die extrudes mutually.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention provides a sheet metal part continuous bending device without grinding marks and a bending process thereof, which solve the problems in the background art.
In order to achieve the purpose, the invention is realized by the following technical scheme: a sheet metal part grinding-mark-free continuous bending device comprises a device body, wherein a side plate is fixedly connected to the side surface of the device body, a supporting column is fixedly connected to the middle position of the surface of the device body, a top beam is fixedly connected to the top end of the supporting column, an anti-deviation mechanism is fixedly connected to the bottom of the top beam, a matching assembly is fixedly connected to the inner side surface of the supporting column, and an anti-abrasion mechanism is fixedly connected to the top of the device body;
the anti-deviation mechanism comprises a sliding column, the top end of the sliding column is fixedly connected with the bottom of a top beam, a sliding table is connected to the surface of the sliding column in a sliding mode, a male die is fixedly connected to the bottom of the sliding table, a cylindrical groove is formed in the bottom of the male die, a supporting plate is fixedly connected to the inner side face of the male die, a sheet metal part to be bent passes through a matching assembly, and the sheet metal part is in a straight state when the sheet metal part is not bent;
the cooperation subassembly includes elastic component, elastic component's bottom and the medial surface fixed connection of pillar, elastic component's fixed surface is connected with the rod body, the middle part position fixed connection on rod body surface has fixed compression roller.
Preferably, the bottom end of the sliding column is fixedly connected with the top of the device body, the surface of the stick body close to the elastic component is rotatably connected with a rotating roller, and the top of the device body close to the edge is provided with a slot.
Preferably, the elastic component includes the connecting cylinder, the medial surface of connecting cylinder and the both ends fixed connection of the rod body, the fixed surface of connecting cylinder is connected with the gleitbretter, the surface of gleitbretter and the medial surface sliding connection of pillar, fixed compression roller setting are in the top position of the membrane of bending, the bottom of sheet metal component and the surface direct contact of the membrane of bending, the membrane of bending protects the surface of sheet metal component when bending, and the gleitbretter slides at the medial surface of pillar.
Preferably, the bottom fixedly connected with spring of connecting cylinder, the bottom of spring and the bottom fixed connection of pillar medial surface, fixed compression roller is in the top position of abrasionproof decreases the mechanism, and the elastic force of spring makes the rod body by the pulling downwards to treat the position of bending with the sheet metal component surface and press and cover, the backup pad supports the medial surface of terrace die, makes the terrace die anti-impact deformation ability reinforcing.
Preferably, the abrasionproof decreases the mechanism and includes the damping subassembly, the bottom of damping subassembly and the top fixed connection of curb plate, the output fixedly connected with plate body of damping subassembly, the medial surface of the device body rotates and is connected with the roll body, and when the slip table moved down, the cylinder groove and the fixed compression roller gomphosis of terrace die bottom, fixed compression roller bend the surface of sheet metal component under the impact of terrace die, and the side position of terrace die carries out stamping deformation to the sheet metal component.
Preferably, the position of the inner side face of the device body, which is close to the roller body, is fixedly connected with a rolling assembly, the top of the plate body is rotatably connected with a rubber roller, and a bending film is pressed on the surface of the rubber roller.
Preferably, the damping subassembly includes the pneumatic cylinder, the bottom of pneumatic cylinder and the top fixed connection of curb plate, the output sliding connection of pneumatic cylinder has the knee, the top fixedly connected with rubber strip on knee surface, after the sheet metal component was bent, the plate body surface removed the pressure of terrace die and covered the power and the upset resets, and the medial surface of preforming carries on spacingly with the both ends of roller, thereby the roller rolls and makes the roll body rotate, avoids the dead problem of roll body card with the coefficient of friction reduction of roll body.
Preferably, the top end of the bent rod is fixedly connected with a ball hinge, the surface of the ball hinge is fixedly connected with the upper position of the surface of the plate body, and the surface of the bending film is in contact with the surface of the plate body.
Preferably, the rolling assembly comprises a ring groove, the ring groove is formed in the position, close to the roller body, of the top of the device body, the inner side face of the ring groove is connected with a roller in a rolling mode, and a pressing sheet is fixedly connected to the position, close to the ring groove, of the inner side face of the device body.
A continuous bending process without grinding marks for sheet metal parts comprises the following steps:
the method comprises the following steps that firstly, a sheet metal part is pressed, the sheet metal part to be bent passes through a matching assembly, when the sheet metal part is not bent, the sheet metal part is in a straight state, the sheet metal part to be bent is pressed by the matching assembly through external force, the bottom of the sheet metal part is attached to the surface of an anti-abrasion mechanism, when the sheet metal part is stamped, a sliding table slides downwards on the surface of a sliding column, a column surface groove at the bottom of a male die is embedded with the middle position of the surface of the matching assembly, the anti-abrasion mechanism is used for attaching and protecting the sheet metal part, and when the sheet metal part is bent, the male die and the matching assembly are used for pressing and stamping the sheet metal part;
moving the bending downwards, wherein the elastic force of a spring enables the rod body to be pulled downwards, a supporting plate supports the inner side face of a male die, the impact deformation resistance of the male die is enhanced, the male die bends the sheet metal part downwards, the surface of a fixed pressing roller is embedded with a cylindrical surface groove at the bottom of the male die, the fixed pressing roller performs stamping bending on the bending position of the sheet metal part, a rotating roller rolls at the grooving position, and meanwhile, a sliding sheet slides on the inner side face of a support to avoid instability during downward rapid stamping of the rod body and the fixed pressing roller;
step three, protecting the sheet metal part, wherein when the sliding table moves downwards, the fixed compression roller bends the surface of the sheet metal part under the impact of the male die, the side position of the male die performs stamping deformation on the sheet metal part, the surface of the plate body is directly contacted with the bottom of the sheet metal part, the material flow of the sheet metal part is supported and protected by the plate body, the bending film is arranged at a position between the fixed compression roller and the sheet metal part, and two ends of the bending film are limited by the rubber roller, so that the surface of the sheet metal part is protected secondarily;
step four, after bending, the plate body surface removes the pressure of terrace die and covers the power and the upset resets, the medial surface of preforming carries on spacingly with the both ends of roller, thereby the roller rolls and makes the roll body rotate, the plate body passes through the ball hinge and is connected with the knee, when the sheet metal component is bent and resets, the inside hydraulic resistance of pneumatic cylinder makes the plate body slowly reset, the resistance increase that makes the plate body reset when the rubber strip gets into the pneumatic cylinder, exert external force to the sheet metal component and press and cover and avoid the resilience.
The invention provides a sheet metal part continuous bending device without grinding marks and a bending process thereof. The method has the following beneficial effects:
1. this sheet metal component does not have continuous bending device of grinding mark and bending process thereof, the bottom of sheet metal component and the surperficial laminating of abrasionproof mechanism, when carrying out the punching press to the sheet metal component, the slip table slides down on the surface of traveller, the post face groove of terrace die bottom and the surperficial middle part position looks gomphosis of cooperation subassembly, the abrasionproof mechanism carries out the laminating protection to the sheet metal component, the in-process that abrasionproof mechanism warp, terrace die and cooperation subassembly are to the sheet metal component pressure and are covered the punching press, thereby avoid the work piece to move the problem that makes the skew of bending position when bending.
2. According to the sheet metal part grinding-mark-free continuous bending device and the bending process thereof, a male die bends a sheet metal part downwards, the surface of a fixed compression roller is embedded with a cylindrical surface groove at the bottom of the male die, the fixed compression roller performs stamping bending on the bending position of the sheet metal part, a rotating roller rolls at the grooving position, and meanwhile a slip sheet slides on the inner side surface of a support column, so that the instability of a stick body and the fixed compression roller during downward rapid stamping is avoided, and the problem of sheet metal part deviation caused by the instability of the fixed compression roller is avoided.
3. This sheet metal component does not have continuous bending device of grinding scar and bending process thereof, the surface of plate body and the bottom direct contact of sheet metal component, the material flow of sheet metal component is supported the protection by the plate body, the membrane setting of bending is in the position between fixed compression roller and sheet metal component, the rubber roller makes the both ends of the membrane of bending spacing, thereby carry out the secondary protection to the surface of sheet metal component, the roll body rotates and drives the plate body and overturn downwards, the problem of the not equidimension wearing and tearing of work piece appearance has been avoided receiving the mutual extrusion of bender mould to make.
4. This sheet metal component does not have continuous bending device of grinding scar and bending process thereof, the plate body passes through the ball hinge and is connected with the knee, and when the sheet metal component was bent and is reset, the inside hydraulic resistance of pneumatic cylinder made the plate body slowly reset, made the resistance increase that the plate body reset when the rubber strip got into the pneumatic cylinder, applied external force to the sheet metal component and pressed and covered, avoided the sheet metal component to kick-back fast and lead to the problem of material surface wear.
5. According to the sheet metal part grinding-mark-free continuous bending device and the bending process thereof, the spring is compressed, so that the sheet metal part is more stable when being bent, the roller supports the roller body, the plate body overturns downwards, the roller rolls to enable the roller body to rotate, and the surface of the roller body is fixedly connected with the surface of the plate body, so that the sheet metal part is bent in a matching manner, and the forming quality of the sheet metal part is higher.
Drawings
FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a continuous bending process without grinding marks for sheet metal parts;
FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of the whole overlooking of the sheet metal part non-grinding-mark continuous bending device;
FIG. 3 is a structural schematic diagram of the whole upward view of the sheet metal part non-grinding-mark continuous bending device of the invention;
FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of an anti-shifting mechanism of the sheet metal part continuous bending device without grinding marks;
FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a matching assembly of the sheet metal part continuous bending device without grinding marks;
FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an elastic assembly of the continuous bending device without grinding marks for sheet metal parts according to the invention;
FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of an anti-abrasion mechanism of the sheet metal part continuous bending device without grinding marks according to the invention;
FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a damping assembly of the sheet metal part continuous bending device without grinding marks according to the invention;
fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a rolling assembly of the sheet metal part continuous bending device without grinding marks.
In the figure: 1. a device body; 2. a side plate; 3. a support post; 4. a top beam; 5. an anti-drift mechanism; 51. a traveler; 52. a sliding table; 53. a male die; 54. a support plate; 55. a cylindrical groove; 6. a mating component; 61. slotting; 62. an elastic component; 621. a connecting cylinder; 622. sliding a sheet; 623. a spring; 63. a stick body; 64. a rotating roller; 65. fixing the compression roller; 7. an anti-wear mechanism; 71. a damping assembly; 711. a hydraulic cylinder; 712. bending a rod; 713. a rubber strip; 714. a ball hinge; 72. a rolling component; 721. a ring groove; 722. tabletting; 723. a roller; 73. a roller body; 74. a plate body; 75. a rubber roller; 76. and (5) bending the film.
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 obtained by a person skilled in the art without making any creative effort based on the embodiments in the present invention, belong to the protection scope of the present invention.
Example 1
As shown in fig. 1 to 4, the present invention provides a technical solution: the utility model provides a sheet metal component does not have continuous bending device of grinding crack and bending process thereof, including the device body 1, the side position fixedly connected with curb plate 2 of the device body 1, the middle part position fixedly connected with pillar 3 on the surface of the device body 1, the top fixedly connected with back timber 4 of pillar 3, the bottom fixedly connected with of back timber 4 prevents excursion mechanism 5, the medial surface fixedly connected with cooperation subassembly 6 of pillar 3, the top fixedly connected with abrasionproof of the device body 1 decreases mechanism 7, it includes sliding column 51 to prevent excursion mechanism 5, the top of sliding column 51 and the bottom fixed connection of back timber 4, sliding connection of sliding column 51 has slip table 52, the bottom fixedly connected with terrace die 53 of slip table 52, the bottom of terrace die 53 is provided with column face groove 55, the medial surface fixedly connected with backup pad 54 of terrace die 53.
During the use, the sheet metal component that treats bending passes cooperation subassembly 6, when not being bent, the sheet metal component is in straight state, because cooperation subassembly 6 has elasticity, need utilize cooperation subassembly 6 with the help of external force to treat bending the sheet metal component and press and cover, the bottom of sheet metal component and the surface laminating of abrasionproof mechanism 7, when punching press the sheet metal component, slip table 52 slides downwards at the surface of traveller 51, the column face groove 55 of terrace die 53 bottom and the surperficial intermediate position gomphosis of cooperation subassembly 6 mutually, abrasionproof mechanism 7 laminates the protection to the sheet metal component, the in-process that abrasionproof mechanism 7 warp, terrace die 53 and cooperation subassembly 6 press and cover the punching press to the sheet metal component, thereby avoid the work piece to move the problem that makes the position of bending skew when bending.
Example 2
As shown in fig. 5 and 6, a supporting plate 54 is fixedly connected to the inner side surface of the male mold 53, the matching component 6 includes an elastic component 62, the bottom of the elastic component 62 is fixedly connected to the inner side surface of the pillar 3, a rod body 63 is fixedly connected to the surface of the elastic component 62, a fixed pressing roller 65 is fixedly connected to the middle position of the surface of the rod body 63, the bottom of the sliding column 51 is fixedly connected to the top of the device body 1, a rotating roller 64 is rotatably connected to the surface of the rod body 63 near the elastic component 62, a slot 61 is formed in the top of the device body 1 near the edge, the elastic component 62 includes a connecting cylinder 621, the inner side surface of the connecting cylinder 621 is fixedly connected to the two ends of the rod body 63, a sliding sheet 622 is fixedly connected to the surface of the connecting cylinder 621, the surface of the sliding sheet is slidably connected to the inner side surface of the pillar 3, a spring 623 is fixedly connected to the bottom of the connecting cylinder 621, the bottom of the spring 623 is fixedly connected to the bottom of the inner side surface of the pillar 3, and the fixed pressing roller 65 is located above the anti-wear mechanism 7.
During use, the rod 63 is pulled downwards by the elastic force of the spring 623, so that the position to be bent on the surface of the sheet metal part is pressed, the supporting plate 54 supports the inner side surface of the male die 53, the anti-impact deformation capacity of the male die 53 is enhanced, the sheet metal part is bent downwards by the male die 53, the surface of the fixed pressing roller 65 is embedded in the cylindrical surface groove 55 at the bottom of the male die 53, the bent position of the sheet metal part is punched and bent by the fixed pressing roller 65, the rotating roller 64 rolls at the position of the groove 61, meanwhile, the sliding sheet 622 slides on the inner side surface of the pillar 3, instability during downward rapid punching of the rod 63 and the fixed pressing roller 65 is avoided, and the problem that the sheet metal part deviates due to instability of the fixed pressing roller 65 is avoided.
Example 3
As shown in fig. 4 and 7, the anti-deviation mechanism 5 includes a sliding column 51, the top end of the sliding column 51 is fixedly connected to the bottom of the top beam 4, the sliding table 52 is slidably connected to the surface of the sliding column 51, the male die 53 is fixedly connected to the bottom of the sliding table 52, a cylindrical groove 55 is formed in the bottom of the male die 53, a support plate 54 is fixedly connected to the inner side of the male die 53, a fixed pressure roller 65 is fixedly connected to the middle of the surface of the rod body 63, the anti-wear mechanism 7 includes a damping assembly 71, the bottom of the damping assembly 71 is fixedly connected to the top of the side plate 2, a plate body 74 is fixedly connected to the output end of the damping assembly 71, a roller body 73 is rotatably connected to the inner side of the device body 1, a rolling assembly 72 is fixedly connected to the position of the inner side of the device body 1 close to the roller body 73, a rubber roller 75 is rotatably connected to the top of the plate body 74, and a bending film 76 is pressed on the surface of the rubber roller 75.
During the use, when slip table 52 moves down, the cylinder groove 55 and the gomphosis of fixed compression roller 65 of terrace die 53 bottom, fixed compression roller 65 bends the surface of sheet metal component under the impact of terrace die 53, the side position of terrace die 53 carries out stamping deformation to the sheet metal component, the surface of plate 74 and the bottom direct contact of sheet metal component, the material flow of sheet metal component is supported the protection by plate 74, bending film 76 sets up the position between fixed compression roller 65 and sheet metal component, rubber roll 75 makes bending film 76's both ends spacing, thereby carry out the secondary protection to the surface of sheet metal component, roll body 73 rotates and drives plate 74 and overturn downwards, avoided receiving the mutual extrusion of bender mould to make the problem that different degree wearing and tearing appear in the work piece.
Example 4
As shown in fig. 8 and 9, the damping assembly 71 includes a hydraulic cylinder 711, the bottom of the hydraulic cylinder 711 is fixedly connected to the top of the side plate 2, an output end of the hydraulic cylinder 711 is slidably connected to a bent rod 712, a rubber strip 713 is fixedly connected to a position above a surface of the bent rod 712, a ball hinge 714 is fixedly connected to a top end of the bent rod 712, a surface of the ball hinge 714 is fixedly connected to a position above a surface of the plate body 74, a surface of the bending film 76 contacts with the surface of the plate body 74, the rolling assembly 72 includes a ring groove 721, the ring groove 721 is formed at a position on the top of the device body 1 near the roller body 73, a roller 723 is connected to an inner side surface of the ring groove 721 in a rolling manner, and a pressing plate 722 is fixedly connected to a position on the inner side surface of the device body 1 near the ring groove 721.
During the use, after the sheet metal component is bent, the plate 74 surface removes the covering power of terrace die 53 and the upset resets, the medial surface of preforming 722 carries on spacingly with the both ends of roller 723, thereby roller 723 rolls makes roll body 73 rotate, reduce the coefficient of friction of roll body 73 and avoid the dead problem of roll body 73 card, plate 74 passes through ball hinge 714 and is connected with knee 712, when the sheet metal component is bent and resets, the inside hydraulic resistance of pneumatic cylinder 711 makes plate 74 slowly reset, make the resistance increase that plate 74 resets when rubber strip 713 gets into pneumatic cylinder 711, exert external force to the sheet metal component and press and cover, avoid the sheet metal component to kick-back fast and lead to the problem of material surface wear.
Example 5
As shown in fig. 5 and 9, the matching component 6 includes an elastic component 62, the bottom of the elastic component 62 is fixedly connected to the inner side of the pillar 3, a rod 63 is fixedly connected to the surface of the elastic component 62, a fixed pressing roller 65 is fixedly connected to the middle position of the surface of the rod 63, the bottom of the sliding column 51 is fixedly connected to the top of the device body 1, a rotating roller 64 is rotatably connected to the surface of the rod 63 near the elastic component 62, the surface of the sliding sheet 622 is slidably connected to the inner side of the pillar 3, a spring 623 is fixedly connected to the bottom of the connecting cylinder 621, a slot 61 is formed in the top of the device body 1 near the edge, the rolling component 72 includes a ring groove 721, the ring groove 721 is formed in the top of the device body 1 near the roller 73, a roller 723 is rotatably connected to the inner side of the ring groove 721, and a pressing sheet 722 is fixedly connected to the inner side of the device body 1 near the ring groove 721.
When the sheet metal part bending device is used, the fixed pressing roller 65 is arranged at the position above the bending film 76, the bottom of the sheet metal part is in direct contact with the surface of the bending film 76, the bending film 76 protects the surface of the sheet metal part during bending, the sliding sheet 622 slides on the inner side surface of the support column 3, the spring 623 is compressed to enable the sheet metal part to be more stable during bending, the roller 723 supports the roller body 73, the sheet metal part 74 overturns downwards, the roller 723 rolls to enable the roller body 73 to rotate, the surface of the roller body 73 is fixedly connected with the surface of the sheet metal part 74, and therefore the sheet metal part is higher in forming quality in cooperation with the bending process of the sheet metal part.
Example 6
As shown in fig. 1 to 9, a continuous bending process without grinding marks for sheet metal parts includes the following steps:
firstly, a sheet metal part is pressed, the sheet metal part to be bent passes through a matching assembly 6, when the sheet metal part is not bent, the sheet metal part is in a straight state, the sheet metal part to be bent is pressed by the matching assembly 6 with the help of external force, the bottom of the sheet metal part is attached to the surface of an anti-abrasion mechanism 7, when the sheet metal part is stamped, a sliding table 52 slides downwards on the surface of a sliding column 51, a column surface groove 55 at the bottom of a male die 53 is embedded with the middle position of the surface of the matching assembly 6, the anti-abrasion mechanism 7 is used for attaching and protecting the sheet metal part, and when the sheet metal part is bent, the male die 53 and the matching assembly 6 are used for pressing and stamping the sheet metal part;
step two, bending is performed downwards, the rod body 63 is pulled downwards due to the elastic force of the spring 623, the supporting plate 54 supports the inner side face of the male die 53, the impact deformation resistance of the male die 53 is enhanced, the male die 53 bends the sheet metal part downwards, the surface of the fixed pressing roller 65 is embedded with the cylindrical surface groove 55 at the bottom of the male die 53, the fixed pressing roller 65 performs stamping bending on the bending position of the sheet metal part, the rotating roller 64 rolls at the position of the groove 61, and meanwhile, the sliding sheet 622 slides on the inner side face of the support 3, so that instability during downward rapid stamping of the rod body 63 and the fixed pressing roller 65 is avoided;
step three, protecting the sheet metal part, wherein when the sliding table 52 moves downwards, the fixed pressing roller 65 bends the surface of the sheet metal part under the impact of the male die 53, the side position of the male die 53 performs stamping deformation on the sheet metal part, the surface of the sheet metal part 74 is directly contacted with the bottom of the sheet metal part, the material flow of the sheet metal part is supported and protected by the sheet metal part 74, the bending film 76 is arranged at a position between the fixed pressing roller 65 and the sheet metal part, and the two ends of the bending film 76 are limited by the rubber roller 75, so that the surface of the sheet metal part is protected secondarily;
step four, after bending, the surface of the plate 74 is turned over and reset after the pressing force of the male die 53 is removed, the two ends of the roller 723 are limited by the inner side surface of the pressing plate 722, the roller 723 rolls to enable the roller body 73 to rotate, the plate 74 is connected with the bent rod 712 through the spherical hinge 714, when the sheet metal part is bent and reset, the plate 74 is reset slowly by hydraulic resistance inside the hydraulic cylinder 711, resistance of the plate 74 to reset is increased when the rubber strip 713 enters the hydraulic cylinder 711, and external force is applied to the sheet metal part to press and avoid springback.
It is noted that, herein, relational terms such as first and second, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Also, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation. The use of the phrase "comprising one of the elements does not exclude the presence of other like elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.
Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.