Automatic testing device for flexible hinge characteristics
Technical Field
The invention relates to a flexible hinge testing device, in particular to an automatic testing device for the characteristics of a flexible hinge.
Background
A compliant mechanism is a novel assembly-free mechanism that utilizes elastic deformation of a flexible element rather than movement of a rigid element to transfer or convert motion, force or energy. Compared with the traditional rigid mechanism, the mechanism has the advantages of high precision, no friction and abrasion, no need of lubrication, no assembly, low manufacturing cost and the like, and overcomes the defect that the precision transmission is difficult to realize due to the existence of gaps and friction in the kinematic pair of the traditional mechanism. The flexible element can be divided into a centralized flexible mechanism and a distributed flexible mechanism according to the existence or non-existence of the flexible element. The centralized compliant mechanism consists of a flexible element and a rigid connecting rod, and realizes accurate transmission of motion and power by controlling deformation of the flexible element.
The flexible hinge is a main expression form of a flexible element, provides relative movement through self elastic deformation, is a core component of a compliant mechanism, and is also a key for realizing high-precision, high-efficiency, stable and reliable operation of the system. In recent years, with rapid development and application of micro-nano manufacturing technology, requirements on large stroke, high resolution, high frequency response and the like of a compliant mechanism are higher and higher, and a design method of a core component, namely a flexible hinge, in the corresponding compliant mechanism becomes an important subject of urgent need for intensive research.
In the development process, various characteristics of the flexible hinge often need to be tested to verify whether the flexible hinge meets specific requirements. For example, referring to fig. 1, it is necessary to act on the flexible hinge 1 in the direction of the arrow while the variation of the top transmission gap is obtained by the camera, so that the corresponding test result is obtained. However, the existing flexible hinge testing work is mostly completed by adopting manual or semi-automatic machines, so that the testing efficiency is low, and the manual operation has large errors, so that accurate testing results are not easy to obtain.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to overcome the problems and provide the automatic testing device for the characteristics of the flexible hinge, which can automatically test the flexible hinge, is beneficial to improving the working efficiency, reduces the testing error and obtains more accurate testing results.
The aim of the invention is achieved by the following technical scheme:
the automatic testing device for the characteristics of the flexible hinge comprises an automatic clamping mechanism for clamping the flexible hinge, an actuating mechanism for providing testing acting force and an image acquisition mechanism;
The automatic clamping mechanism comprises a clamping platform, a clamping assembly and a clamping driving mechanism, wherein the clamping assembly is provided with four groups of four sides which correspond to flexible hinges respectively, each clamping assembly comprises a clamping sliding block and a clamping reset spring, the clamping sliding blocks are horizontally and slidably connected to the clamping platform, two ends of each clamping reset spring respectively act on the clamping sliding blocks and the clamping platform, the clamping reset springs are used for enabling the clamping sliding blocks to return to the original positions, the clamping driving mechanism comprises a clamping driving motor and a clamping transmission assembly, the clamping transmission assembly comprises a swing arm, a movable pulley and a clamping transmission belt, one end of the swing arm is connected with the driving end of the clamping driving motor, the other end of the swing arm is provided with an extrusion part which is used for being pressed on the clamping transmission belt, the movable pulley is provided with four clamping sliding blocks which are respectively and rotatably connected to the four clamping sliding blocks of the four clamping assemblies, and the clamping transmission belt is connected between the four movable pulleys;
The actuating mechanism comprises an actuating tool and an actuating driving mechanism used for driving the actuating tool to act on the flexible hinge;
the image acquisition mechanism includes a camera for acquiring images of the flexible hinge.
The working principle of the automatic flexible hinge characteristic testing device is as follows:
The flexible hinge is placed on the center position of the clamping platform and located on the four assembly clamp assemblies, clamping sliding blocks of the four assembly clamp assemblies are located at the same position, the clamping driving motor drives the swing arms to swing, the extrusion parts of the swing arms are close to the clamping driving belt, after the extrusion parts of the swing arms extrude the clamping driving belt, the clamping driving belt is enabled to be tightened, the clamping driving belt is enabled to move towards the position of the swing arms gradually in a continuous pulling mode at the swing arms, at the moment, all clamping sliding blocks are driven to conduct surrounding operation through the clamping driving belt, namely the clamping sliding blocks of the four groups slide towards the flexible hinge located at the center at the same time until the clamping sliding blocks are clamped on different sides of the clamping sliding blocks in pairs, wherein the clamping sliding blocks of the four groups are connected in series through the self-adaptive adjustable movable pulleys and the clamping driving belt, and even if the clamping sliding blocks face the flexible hinge with different side widths, the clamping sliding blocks with smaller distances between the flexible hinge are clamped on the side faces of the flexible hinge, the clamping sliding blocks are kept motionless, and then the sliding blocks are enabled to be changed into guide wheels, and the clamping sliding blocks can be clamped on the side faces of the flexible hinge through the flexible hinge in a large distance between the flexible hinge.
And meanwhile, the camera acquires images of the flexible hinge for subsequent analysis, and the related characteristics of the flexible hinge can be obtained by combining data such as the acting distance of the execution tool and the like.
The clamping transmission assembly further comprises four groups of guide wheels, each group of guide wheels at least comprises one guide wheel, each group of guide wheels is located between two different clamping sliding blocks, and the guide wheels are rotatably connected to the clamping platform.
And each group of guide wheels comprises two guide wheels, and the clamping transmission belt is wound on the output shaft of the clamping driving motor from one guide wheel of one group and wound on the other guide wheel of the other group from the output shaft of the clamping driving motor. Through the structure, on one hand, the clamping transmission belt can be arranged near the swing arm to facilitate the extrusion tightening operation, and on the other hand, after the clamping transmission belt bypasses the output shaft of the clamping driving motor, when the swing arm extrudes the clamping transmission belt at the position at one side, the clamping transmission belt is equivalent to simultaneously grabbing two sections of clamping transmission belts to be rolled, so that the extrusion amplitude of the swing arm is reduced, the clamping speed is improved, and the clamping device is very ingenious.
The automatic clamping mechanism further comprises a rotary driving mechanism, the rotary driving mechanism comprises a rotary driving motor and a rotary transmission assembly, the rotary driving motor is fixedly arranged on the platform mounting frame, the rotary transmission assembly comprises a first driving gear and a first driven gear, the first driving gear is rotatably connected to the platform mounting frame, the axis of the first driving gear vertically extends, the first driving gear is fixedly connected with the clamping platform, and the first driven gear is connected with an output shaft of the rotary driving motor. Through the structure, the clamping platform can be driven to rotate, so that the gesture of the flexible hinge is adjusted, and different testing requirements are met.
The automatic clamping mechanism further comprises a vertical driving mechanism, the vertical driving mechanism comprises a vertical driving motor and a vertical transmission assembly, the vertical driving motor is fixedly arranged on the frame, the vertical transmission assembly comprises a vertical transmission frame, a vertical screw rod and a vertical screw rod nut, the vertical transmission frame forms the platform mounting frame, and the vertical screw rod nut is fixedly connected with the vertical transmission frame. Through the structure, the clamping platform can be driven to vertically move, so that the height of the flexible hinge is adjusted, and different testing requirements are met.
The invention provides a preferred scheme, wherein the execution driving mechanism comprises an execution mounting frame, a switching turntable, an execution driving motor and an execution transmission assembly, the switching turntable is rotatably connected to the execution mounting frame, a locking structure for locking the switching turntable is arranged between the switching turntable and the execution mounting frame, the execution driving motor is fixedly arranged on the execution mounting frame, the execution transmission assembly comprises a second driving gear and a second driven gear, the second driving gear is connected with an output shaft of the execution driving motor, at least two second driven gears are arranged and are rotatably connected to the switching turntable, and different second driven gears are connected with different execution tools. Through above-mentioned structure, can set up multiple different test mode, when through rotating the switching carousel for second driving gear and different second driven gear meshing, thereby switch to different test mode, carry out different test work, the function is more powerful.
The two-way synchronous transmission mechanism comprises a synchronous screw rod assembly, a swinging rod and a sliding rod, wherein the synchronous screw rod assembly comprises a synchronous screw rod and a synchronous screw rod nut, the synchronous screw rod is coaxially and fixedly connected with the second driven gear, two swinging rods and the sliding rod are arranged on two sides of the synchronous screw rod in parallel, two swinging rods are respectively hinged between the two sliding rods and the synchronous screw rod nut, one end of each sliding rod is slidably connected to a switching turntable, the two actuating tools are respectively connected with the other end of each sliding rod through a detachable structure, and the actuating tools are not arranged on the sliding rods in a non-working state. Through the structure, after the second driven gear corresponding to the bidirectional synchronous transmission structure is meshed with the second driving gear, the synchronous screw rod drives the synchronous screw rod nut to linearly move under the driving of the execution driving motor, at the moment, the two swing rods swing to push the sliding rods on two sides to slide oppositely or slide back to back, so that the execution tool is close to or far away from the flexible hinge, and then corresponding test work is completed.
Further, one of the second driven gears is connected with the executing tool through a push-pull transmission structure, the push-pull transmission structure comprises a push-pull lead screw, a push-pull lead screw nut and a push-pull installation block, the push-pull lead screw is coaxially and fixedly connected with the second driven gears, the push-pull lead screw nut is fixedly connected with the push-pull installation block, the push-pull installation block is connected with the executing tool through a detachable structure, and the executing tool is not installed on the push-pull installation block in a non-working state. Through the structure, after the second driven gear corresponding to the push-pull transmission structure is meshed with the second driving gear, the execution tool is driven by the execution driving motor to linearly move through the push-pull screw rod and the push-pull screw rod nut, so that the corresponding test work is completed when the corresponding test tool is close to or far away from the flexible hinge.
Further, one of the second driven gears is connected with the executing tool through a torsion mounting seat, the torsion mounting seat is connected with the executing tool through a detachable structure, and the executing tool is not mounted on the torsion mounting seat in a non-working state. Through the structure, after the second driven gear corresponding to the torsion mounting seat is meshed with the second driving gear, the torsion mounting seat can drive the execution tool to apply torsion force under the driving of the execution driving motor.
The invention relates to a preferable scheme, wherein the execution action mechanism further comprises a transverse driving mechanism, the transverse driving mechanism comprises a transverse driving motor and a transverse transmission assembly, the transverse driving motor is fixedly arranged on the frame, the transverse transmission assembly comprises a transverse screw rod and a transverse screw rod nut, the transverse screw rod nut is fixedly connected with the execution installation frame, and the execution driving mechanism is arranged on the execution installation frame. Through the structure, the actuating drive mechanism and the actuating tool can be driven to transversely move, so that the distance between the actuating tool and the flexible hinge is adjusted, and different testing requirements are met.
The invention relates to a preferable scheme, wherein the image acquisition mechanism further comprises a position adjustment mechanism for adjusting the position of a camera, the position adjustment mechanism comprises an adjustment mounting frame, an adjustment driving motor and an adjustment transmission assembly, the adjustment driving motor is fixedly arranged on the adjustment mounting frame, the adjustment transmission assembly comprises an adjustment driving belt and an adjustment driving belt wheel, the adjustment driving belt comprises a horizontal section and a vertical section, the adjustment driving belt wheel is provided with a plurality of adjustment driving belt wheels, and one adjustment driving belt wheel is connected with the adjustment driving motor;
when the camera is positioned on the vertical section of the adjusting transmission belt, the camera is positioned at the side of the clamping platform. Through the structure, the azimuth of the camera can be adjusted, and the camera is suitable for different shooting requirements.
Compared with the prior art, the invention has the following beneficial effects:
1. The automatic testing device can automatically test the flexible hinge, is beneficial to improving the working efficiency, reduces the testing error and obtains more accurate testing results.
2. Through setting up swing arm, movable pulley and clamping driving belt, by swing arm extrusion clamping driving belt, can drive all clamping sliders and remove and accomplish the clamping, the structure is very ingenious and compact, but reduce cost.
3. When the flexible hinges with different side widths are faced, the clamping can be performed in a self-adaptive mode, when the clamping slide blocks with smaller distances from the flexible hinges are clamped on the side faces of the flexible hinges, the clamping slide blocks are kept motionless, the movable pulleys corresponding to the clamping slide blocks are changed into guide wheels, and then the clamping slide blocks with larger distances from the clamping drive belt to the flexible hinges can be driven by the clamping drive belt to approach the flexible hinges until all the clamping slide blocks are attached to the side faces of the flexible hinges, so that the flexible hinges are applicable to flexible hinges with various shapes, and the universality is better.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a front view of a conventional flexible hinge.
Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view of an automatic testing device for flexible hinge characteristics according to the present invention.
Fig. 3-4 are front views of the flexible hinge characteristic automatic test equipment of the present invention under different test jobs.
Fig. 5-6 are schematic perspective views of the present invention from two different perspectives of an automatic clamping mechanism that does not include a rotary drive mechanism.
Fig. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a rotary driving mechanism of the automatic clamping mechanism of the present invention.
Fig. 8 is a schematic perspective view of an actuator according to the present invention.
Fig. 9 is a schematic perspective view of an actuator of the present invention with another view of the actuator mount hidden.
Detailed Description
In order that those skilled in the art will well understand the technical solutions of the present invention, the following describes the present invention further with reference to examples and drawings, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.
Referring to fig. 2 and 5-6, the automatic testing device for the flexible hinge characteristics of the embodiment comprises an automatic clamping mechanism for clamping the flexible hinge 1, an actuating mechanism for providing testing acting force and an image acquisition mechanism, wherein the automatic clamping mechanism comprises a clamping platform 2, a clamping assembly and a clamping driving mechanism, the clamping assembly is provided with four groups of four sides which correspond to the flexible hinge 1 respectively, each clamping assembly comprises a clamping sliding block 3 and a clamping return spring 4, the clamping sliding blocks 3 are horizontally and slidingly connected to the clamping platform 2, two ends of the clamping return springs 4 act on the clamping sliding blocks 3 and the clamping platform 2 respectively, the clamping return springs 4 are used for promoting the clamping sliding blocks 3 to return to the original position, the clamping driving mechanism comprises a clamping driving motor 5 and a clamping driving assembly, the clamping driving assembly comprises a swinging arm 6, a movable pulley 7 and a clamping driving belt 8, one end of the swinging arm 6 is connected with the driving end of the clamping driving motor 5, the other end of the swinging arm 6 is provided with a pressing part 6-1 which is used for being pressed on the clamping driving belt 8, the movable pulley 7 is provided with four movable pulleys 7 which are respectively connected with the four clamping driving pulleys 7 in a rotating mode, and the four clamping driving belt 8 are connected between the four clamping driving pulleys 7.
Referring to fig. 8-9, the actuator comprises an actuator 9, an actuator drive for driving the actuator 9 to act on the flexible hinge 1, and a transverse drive.
Referring to fig. 5-6, the clamping transmission assembly further comprises four groups of guide wheels 11, each group of guide wheels 11 at least comprises one guide wheel 11, each group of guide wheels 11 is positioned between two different clamping sliding blocks 3, and the guide wheels 11 are rotatably connected to the clamping platform 2.
Further, each group of guide wheels 11 comprises two guide wheels 11, and the clamping transmission belt 8 is wound on the output shaft of the clamping driving motor 5 from one guide wheel 11 of one group and wound on the other guide wheel 11 of the other group from the output shaft of the clamping driving motor 5. Through the structure, on one hand, the clamping transmission belt 8 can be arranged near the swing arm 6 to facilitate the extrusion tightening operation, and on the other hand, after the clamping transmission belt 8 bypasses the output shaft of the clamping driving motor 5, when the swing arm 6 extrudes the clamping transmission belt 8 at the position at one side, the clamping transmission belt 8 is equivalent to simultaneously grabbing two sections of clamping transmission belts 8 to wind, thereby being beneficial to reducing the extrusion amplitude of the swing arm 6 and improving the clamping speed, and being very ingenious.
Referring to fig. 2-4 and 7, the automatic clamping mechanism further comprises a rotary driving mechanism, the rotary driving mechanism comprises a rotary driving motor 12 and a rotary transmission assembly, the rotary driving motor 12 is fixedly arranged on the platform mounting frame, the rotary transmission assembly comprises a first driving gear 13 and a first driven gear 14, the first driving gear 13 is rotatably connected to the platform mounting frame, the axis of the first driving gear 13 extends vertically, the first driving gear 13 is fixedly connected with the clamping platform 2, and the first driven gear 14 is connected with an output shaft of the rotary driving motor 12. Through the structure, the clamping platform 2 can be driven to rotate, so that the gesture of the flexible hinge 1 is adjusted, and different testing requirements are met.
Referring to fig. 2-4, the automatic clamping mechanism further comprises a vertical driving mechanism, the vertical driving mechanism comprises a vertical driving motor 15 and a vertical transmission assembly, the vertical driving motor 15 is fixedly arranged on a frame 16, the vertical transmission assembly comprises a vertical transmission frame 17, a vertical screw rod 18 and a vertical screw rod nut, the vertical transmission frame 17 forms the platform mounting frame, and the vertical screw rod nut is fixedly connected with the vertical transmission frame 17. Through the structure, the clamping platform 2 can be driven to vertically move, so that the height of the flexible hinge 1 is adjusted, and different testing requirements are met.
Referring to fig. 2-4 and 8-9, the execution driving mechanism comprises an execution mounting frame 19, a switching turntable 20, an execution driving motor 21 and an execution transmission assembly, wherein the switching turntable 20 is rotatably connected to the execution mounting frame 19, a locking structure for locking the switching turntable 20 is arranged between the switching turntable 20 and the execution mounting frame 19, the execution driving motor 21 is fixedly arranged on the execution mounting frame 19, the execution transmission assembly comprises a second driving gear 22 and a second driven gear 23, the second driving gear 22 is connected with an output shaft of the execution driving motor 21, at least two second driven gears 23 are rotatably connected to the switching turntable 20, and different second driven gears 23 are connected with different execution tools 9. Through the structure, a plurality of different test modes can be set, and when the switching turntable 20 is rotated, the second driving gear 22 is meshed with the second driven gears 23 which are different, so that the switching is carried out to different test modes, different test works are carried out, and the functions are more powerful.
Referring to fig. 8-9, one of the second driven gears 23 is connected with the executing tool 9 through a bidirectional synchronous transmission structure, the bidirectional synchronous transmission structure comprises a synchronous screw rod assembly, a swinging rod 24 and a sliding rod 25, the synchronous screw rod assembly comprises a synchronous screw rod 26 and a synchronous screw rod nut 27, the synchronous screw rod 26 is coaxially and fixedly connected with the second driven gears 23, the swinging rod 24 and the sliding rod 25 are respectively provided with two sliding rods 25 which are arranged on two sides of the synchronous screw rod 26 in parallel, one end of the sliding rod 25 is slidably connected with the switching turntable 20, the executing tool 9 is provided with two sliding rods and is respectively connected with the other end of the sliding rod 25 through a detachable structure, and the executing tool 9 is not installed on the sliding rod 25 in a non-working state. Through the structure, after the second driven gear 23 corresponding to the bidirectional synchronous transmission structure is meshed with the second driving gear 22, under the driving of the execution driving motor 21, the synchronous screw rod 26 drives the synchronous screw rod nut 27 to linearly move, at the moment, the two swing rods 24 swing, and the sliding rods 25 on two sides are pushed to slide oppositely or slide back to each other, so that the execution tool 9 is close to the flexible hinge 1 or far away from the flexible hinge 1, and then the corresponding test work is completed.
Referring to fig. 8-9, one of the second driven gears 23 is connected with the executing tool 9 through a push-pull transmission structure, the push-pull transmission structure comprises a push-pull lead screw 28, a push-pull lead screw nut and a push-pull mounting block 29, the push-pull lead screw 28 is fixedly connected with the second driven gear 23 coaxially, the push-pull lead screw nut is fixedly connected with the push-pull mounting block 29, the push-pull mounting block 29 is connected with the executing tool 9 through a detachable structure, and in a non-working state, the executing tool 9 is not mounted on the push-pull mounting block 29. Through the above structure, after the second driven gear 23 corresponding to the push-pull transmission structure is meshed with the second driving gear 22, the execution tool 9 is driven by the execution driving motor 21 to perform linear movement through the push-pull screw rod 28 and the push-pull screw rod nut, so as to approach the flexible hinge 1 or separate from the flexible hinge 1, and then the corresponding test work is completed, as shown in fig. 3.
Referring to fig. 8-9, one of the second driven gears 23 is connected to the implement 9 by a torsion mount 30, the torsion mount 30 is connected to the implement 9 by a detachable structure, and the implement 9 is not mounted on the torsion mount 30 in the non-operating state. With the above structure, after the second driven gear 23 corresponding to the torsion mount 30 is meshed with the second driving gear 22, the torsion mount 30 drives the execution tool 9 to apply a torsion force under the driving of the execution driving motor 21.
Referring to fig. 2-4, the transverse driving mechanism comprises a transverse driving motor 31 and a transverse transmission assembly, wherein the transverse driving motor 31 is fixedly arranged on the frame 16, the transverse transmission assembly comprises a transverse screw rod and a transverse screw rod nut, the transverse screw rod nut is fixedly connected with the execution installation frame 19, and the execution driving mechanism is arranged on the execution installation frame 19. Through the structure, the actuating drive mechanism and the actuating tool 9 can be driven to transversely move, so that the distance between the actuating tool 9 and the flexible hinge 1 is adjusted, and different testing requirements are met.
Referring to fig. 2-4, the image acquisition mechanism includes a camera 10 for acquiring an image of the flexible hinge 1 and a position adjustment mechanism for adjusting the position of the camera 10. The position adjusting mechanism comprises an adjusting installation frame 32, an adjusting driving motor 33 and an adjusting transmission assembly, wherein the adjusting driving motor 33 is fixedly arranged on the adjusting installation frame 32, the adjusting transmission assembly comprises an adjusting transmission belt 34 and an adjusting transmission belt wheel 35, the adjusting transmission belt 34 comprises a horizontal section and a vertical section, the adjusting transmission belt wheel 35 is provided with a plurality of adjusting transmission belt wheels, one of the adjusting transmission belt wheels 35 is connected with the adjusting driving motor 33, when the camera 10 is positioned on the horizontal section of the adjusting transmission belt 34, the camera 10 is positioned above the clamping platform 2 and used for acquiring images of the flexible hinge 1 downwards, and when the camera 10 is positioned on the vertical section of the adjusting transmission belt 34, the camera 10 is positioned on the side of the clamping platform 2. Through the structure, the azimuth of the camera 10 can be adjusted, and the camera is suitable for different shooting requirements.
Referring to fig. 2 to 6, the automatic testing device for the characteristics of the flexible hinge of the present embodiment has the following working principle:
the flexible hinge 1 is placed on the center position of the clamping platform 2 and located on the four assembly clamp assemblies, clamping sliding blocks 3 of the four assembly clamp assemblies are located at the same position, the clamping driving motor 5 drives the swinging arms 6 to swing, the pressing parts 6-1 of the swinging arms 6 are close to the clamping driving belt 8, after the pressing parts 6-1 of the swinging arms 6 press the clamping driving belt 8, the clamping driving belt 8 is forced to be tightened, the clamping driving belt 8 is continuously pulled at the swinging arms 6, so that the clamping driving belt 8 gradually moves towards the position of the swinging arms 6, at the moment, the clamping driving belt 8 drives all the clamping sliding blocks 3 to perform surrounding operation, namely, the clamping sliding blocks 3 of the four assembly clamp the flexible hinge 1 at the center at the same time until the clamping sliding blocks 3 are clamped on different sides of the clamping sliding blocks 3 in pairs, wherein the four assembly clamping sliding blocks 3 are connected in series through the self-adaptive movable pulleys 7 and the clamping driving belt 8, even if the flexible hinge 1 with different widths faces the sides, the clamping sliding blocks 3 can be clamped in self-adaptive mode until the flexible hinge 1 is clamped between the flexible sliding blocks 3 and the flexible hinge 1, and the flexible sliding blocks 3 can be kept close to the flexible hinge 1, and the flexible hinge 3 can be clamped to the flexible hinge 3 through the flexible sliding blocks, and the flexible hinge 3 can be clamped to the flexible hinge 1, and the flexible hinge 3 can be clamped to the flexible hinge 3 and the flexible hinge 3, and the flexible hinge 3 can be clamped and the flexible hinge 3 can be flexibly clamped and the flexible hinge 3.
The execution tool 9 is driven by the execution driving motor 21 to approach and act on the flexible hinge 1, and at the same time, the camera 10 acquires images of the flexible hinge 1 for subsequent analysis, and the relevant characteristics of the flexible hinge 1 can be obtained by combining data such as the acting distance of the execution tool 9.
The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention, and is not to be construed as limiting thereof, but rather as various changes, modifications, substitutions, combinations, and simplifications which may be made without departing from the spirit and principles of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.