Intelligent cutting device for furniture boards
Technical Field
The invention belongs to the technical field of furniture board processing, and particularly relates to an intelligent furniture board cutting device.
Background
Sheet material cutting refers to the process of cutting a raw material (e.g., log or large sheet material) into a specific size or shape required for design, which generally involves using a machine device, such as a sawing machine, to precisely cut according to the size requirements of a design drawing or furniture component, the purpose of cutting being to accommodate the requirements of furniture or other wood product manufacturing, while minimizing waste of material.
The prior art also provides solutions, such as a patent with publication number CN119036581A discloses a high-efficiency numerical control plate cutting device, which comprises a workbench, a conveying roller, a conveying motor and an outer frame, wherein the conveying roller is longitudinally connected to the upper surface of the workbench through a bracket in a rotating way, the conveying motor is fixed on the left side of the bottom of the workbench, the front, back, left and right ends, upper and lower ends of the plate can be comprehensively limited in the process of conveying and cutting the plate, the plate cannot shake and misplacement in the cutting process, the stability is high, and the cutting efficiency of the plate is further improved.
The cutting of furniture board is the process of cutting into required specific size or shape with the panel, and the panel can be divided into two after the cutting, and the cutting surface of two panels after cutting all can appear the burr, and the existence of burr has not only reduced the aesthetic measure of product, influences the whole outward appearance of furniture, and burr still can cut operating personnel's finger or other health positions, constitutes potential security threat to operating personnel or user in transport, installation or use.
Therefore, the invention provides an intelligent cutting device for furniture boards.
Disclosure of Invention
In order to overcome the defects of the prior art, at least one technical problem proposed in the background art is solved.
The intelligent furniture plate cutting device comprises a cutting table, wherein a placing table is symmetrically and fixedly arranged at the top of the cutting table, furniture plates are placed above the two placing tables, a cutting tool is arranged right above the furniture plates, a beam table is arranged above the cutting tool, a hydraulic cylinder is fixedly connected to the top of the beam table, the output end of the hydraulic cylinder is fixedly connected with the top of the cutting tool, the output end of the hydraulic cylinder is spliced with the inner wall of the beam table, positioning components are arranged on two sides of the furniture plates and used for clamping and fixing the two sides of the furniture plates, linkage components are arranged on two sides of the cutting tool and used for driving the furniture plates to ascend, side turning components are arranged on two sides of the furniture plates and used for driving the furniture plates to turn over when ascending, and an external polishing component is arranged on one side of the upper side of the furniture plates and used for polishing a notch.
Preferably, the positioning assembly comprises a plurality of C-shaped clamps, each two C-shaped clamps are respectively positioned at two sides of the furniture plate, the thickness of the inner wall of each C-shaped clamp is the same as that of the furniture plate, and a telescopic rod is fixedly connected to one side of each C-shaped clamp.
Preferably, the side turning component comprises a plurality of electrified sliding rails, the inner wall of each electrified sliding rail is connected with an electric sliding block in a sliding way, one side of each electric sliding block is fixedly connected with one end of each telescopic rod respectively, a gear is fixedly connected with the center of one side of each electrified sliding rail, rack plates capable of being meshed with teeth of the gear are arranged above the gear, the two groups of rack plates are in symmetrical relation, and the number of teeth of the rack plates is one fourth of the number of teeth of the gear.
Preferably, one side of each electrified sliding rail is symmetrically and fixedly connected with an arc-shaped sliding block, one side of each electrified sliding rail is provided with a circular plate, the side wall surface of the circular plate is provided with a circular sliding groove, the arc-shaped sliding blocks and the circular sliding grooves are in sliding connection and mutually matched, one side of the circular plate, which is far away from the electrified sliding rail, is fixedly connected with a first inner sliding block, the top of the cutting table is fixedly provided with a plurality of first fixing seats, and the outer wall of each first inner sliding block is respectively in sliding connection with the inner wall of each first fixing seat and is matched with the inner wall of each first fixing seat.
Preferably, the linkage assembly comprises two connecting frames, the two connecting frames are respectively fixedly connected to two sides of the cutting tool, the bottoms of the connecting frames are fixedly connected with connecting pieces, the two sides of each connecting piece are symmetrically fixedly connected with hinging pieces, shaft rods of the hinging pieces are hinged with hinging rods, one ends of the hinging rods are fixedly connected with connecting blocks, one side of each circular plate is fixedly connected with a bending plate, and inclined grooves are formed in the inner walls of inclined planes of the bending plates.
Preferably, an angle spring is fixedly connected between the top of the hinge rod and one side of the angle spring, a first damping rod is arranged in the angle spring, one end of the first damping rod is fixedly connected with the top of the hinge rod, the other end of the first damping rod is fixedly connected with one side of the connecting piece, a clamping component is arranged below the hinge rod, and the clamping component is used for enabling the hinge rod not to hinge downwards.
Preferably, the clamping component comprises a connecting plate, the bottom of connecting piece is fixed in to the fixed mounting of connecting plate, the equal fixedly connected with fixed station in both sides of connecting plate, the interior mouth groove has been seted up to the side inner wall of fixed station, the inner wall grafting of fixed station has the plug rod, the one end fixedly connected with stopper of plug rod, the top and the laminating of the bottom of articulated pole of stopper, one side of fixed station is provided with the removal subassembly, the removal subassembly is arranged in driving the stopper and removes in the inner wall of interior mouth groove.
Preferably, one side of each connecting frame is fixedly connected with a second inner sliding block, the top of the cutting table is symmetrically and fixedly provided with a second fixing seat, the outer wall of the second inner sliding block is in sliding connection with the inner wall of the second fixing seat and is matched with the inner wall of the second fixing seat, and the cross beam table is fixedly arranged between the upper sides of the second fixing seats.
Preferably, the moving assembly comprises a plurality of round platform blocks, each round platform block is fixedly connected to the other end of each insertion connection rod respectively, the round platform blocks are made of iron materials, the outer wall of each insertion connection rod is provided with a connecting spring, one end of each connecting spring is fixedly connected with one side of the fixing table, the other end of each connecting spring is fixedly connected with one side of each round platform block, and the outer wall of the fixing seat II is symmetrically and fixedly provided with a through electromagnet.
Preferably, the inner wall of fixing base one all is provided with reset spring, reset spring's top and the bottom fixed connection of interior slider one, reset spring's bottom and the inner wall fixed connection of fixing base one, reset spring's inside is provided with damping pole two, the bottom fixed connection of damping pole two's top and interior slider one, the bottom of damping pole two and the inner wall fixed connection of fixing base one.
The beneficial effects of the invention are as follows:
1. according to the intelligent cutting device for the furniture boards, through the linkage assembly, the cutting tool can enable two furniture boards to ascend when ascending and resetting after cutting, when the two furniture boards ascend, the side turning assembly can enable the two furniture boards to turn over and enable the two cutting surfaces to face right above at the same time, so that the polishing assembly can polish the cutting surfaces of the two furniture boards at one time, after polishing, due to the fact that the cutting surfaces face right above, workers can clearly see the polished effect, timely find and process any flaw is facilitated, appearance quality of the two furniture boards is strictly controlled, the cutting tool automatically ascends and resets after cutting, and meanwhile the two furniture boards are driven to ascend, time for manual carrying and repositioning is shortened, and therefore production speed is accelerated.
2. According to the intelligent furniture board cutting device, through the side turning component, after two furniture boards are turned over towards different directions, corresponding cutting surfaces of the two furniture boards face right upwards at the same time, after the electrified sliding rail is turned over by 90 degrees, the electrified sliding rail is rotated into a transverse state from a vertical state, at the moment, the electric sliding block is controlled to slide from one end to the other end on the inner wall of the electrified sliding rail, in the sliding process, the two furniture boards after being turned over can be gradually closed, and the polishing component can polish the two cutting surfaces at the same time conveniently.
3. According to the intelligent furniture board cutting device, the clamping component and the moving component are adopted, the hinge rod cannot hinge downwards by taking the shaft rod of the hinge piece as the shaft center in the descending process of the cutting tool, so that the circular board cannot ascend, after the two furniture boards finish side turning and polishing, the limiting block cannot keep an attaching relation with the hinge rod when the cutting tool continues ascending, the circular board can hinge downwards under the action of gravity, the connecting block cannot support the bottom of the bending board, the circular board can automatically descend and reset, and the two polished furniture boards descend and reset, so that the furniture boards are convenient to take out and store after descending and resetting.
Drawings
The invention is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the structure of the cutting blade in the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the structure of furniture plate blocks in the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the structure of the C-shaped clamp in the invention;
FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the structure of the electrified slide rail in the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a schematic view of two parts of the fixing base in the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the structure of the bending plate in the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the structure of the connecting piece in the invention;
FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the hinge of the present invention;
fig. 10 is a schematic view of a stopper structure in the present invention.
In the figure, 1, a cutting table, 2, a placing table, 3, a furniture plate, 4, a cutting tool, 5, a crossbeam table, 6, a hydraulic cylinder, 7, a C-shaped clamp, 8, a telescopic rod, 9, an electric slide block, 10, an electrified slide rail, 11, a gear, 12, a rack plate, 13, an arc slide block, 14, a circular ring plate, 15, a circular slide groove, 16, a first fixing seat, 17, a first inner slide block, 18, a connecting frame, 19, a second fixing seat, 20, a second inner slide block, 21, a connecting piece, 22, a hinging piece, 23, a hinging rod, 24, a connecting block, 25, a bending plate, 26, a slope groove, 27, an angle spring, 28, a damping rod I, 29, a connecting plate, 30, a fixing table, 31, a limiting block, 32, a plug-in rod, 33, an inner opening groove, 34, a connecting spring, 35, a circular table block, 36, an electrified magnet, 37, a reset spring, 38 and a damping rod II.
Detailed Description
The invention is further described in connection with the following detailed description in order to make the technical means, the creation characteristics, the achievement of the purpose and the effect of the invention easy to understand.
As shown in fig. 1 to 10, the invention provides a technical scheme that the intelligent furniture board cutting device comprises a cutting table 1, wherein a placing table 2 is symmetrically and fixedly arranged at the top of the cutting table 1, furniture boards 3 are placed above the two placing tables 2, a cutting tool 4 is arranged right above the furniture boards 3, a beam table 5 is arranged above the cutting tool 4, a hydraulic cylinder 6 is fixedly connected to the top of the beam table 5, the output end of the hydraulic cylinder 6 is fixedly connected with the top of the cutting tool 4, the output end of the hydraulic cylinder 6 is inserted into the inner wall of the beam table 5, positioning components are arranged at two sides of the furniture boards 3 and used for clamping and fixing the two sides of the furniture boards 3, linkage components are arranged at two sides of the cutting tool 4 and used for driving the furniture boards 3 to ascend, side turning components are arranged at two sides of the furniture boards 3 and used for driving the furniture boards 3 to turn over when ascending, and an external polishing component is arranged at one side above the furniture boards 3 and used for polishing a notch.
When in operation, the device comprises: the furniture plate 3 to be cut is placed above the placing tables 2, the preset cutting line of the furniture plate 3 is kept in the seam between the two placing tables 2, the two sides of the furniture plate 3 are clamped and fixed through the positioning component to keep the stability of the furniture plate 3 in the cutting process, then the hydraulic cylinder 6 is started, the output end of the hydraulic cylinder drives the cutting tool 4 to descend, the cutting tool 4 gradually approaches the surface of the furniture plate 3 in the descending process and cuts the surface of the furniture plate, the cut furniture plate 3 is divided into two parts, at the moment, in the ascending resetting process of the cutting tool 4, the linkage component drives the two furniture plates 3 to ascend, in the ascending process, the two furniture plates 3 are overturned under the action of the rollover component, the cutting surfaces of the two furniture plates 3 face to the right upper side at the same time after overturning, at the moment, the furniture plate 3 stops rising, the external polishing component moves to polish burrs at the notch, so that the cutting surfaces are kept smooth and flat, the cutting tool 4 continuously rises and resets to the initial position after polishing, in the process, the furniture plate 3 can fall and reset to the upper part of the placing table 2, the cutting tool 4 can enable the two furniture plates 3 to rise when rising and resetting after cutting through the linkage component, when rising, the two furniture plates 3 can turn over and enable the two cutting surfaces to face directly above at the same time, the polishing component can polish the cutting surfaces of the two furniture plates 3 at one time conveniently, after polishing, the staff can clearly see the effect after polishing because the cutting surfaces face directly above, so that any flaws can be found and processed in time conveniently, therefore, the appearance quality of the two furniture boards 3 is strictly controlled, the cutting tool 4 automatically rises and resets after cutting, and simultaneously drives the two furniture boards 3 to rise, so that the time for manual carrying and repositioning is reduced, and the production speed is increased.
As shown in fig. 2 to 4, the positioning assembly comprises a plurality of C-shaped clamps 7, each two C-shaped clamps 7 are respectively located at two sides of the furniture board 3, the thickness of the inner wall of each C-shaped clamp 7 is the same as that of the furniture board 3, and one side of each C-shaped clamp 7 is fixedly connected with a telescopic rod 8.
When the furniture board 3 is placed above the placing table 2, the plurality of telescopic rods 8 are controlled, so that the C-shaped clamps 7 are clamped and fixed near the side faces of the furniture board 3 at the same time, the thickness of the inner wall of the C-shaped clamps 7 is the same as that of the furniture board 3, the C-shaped clamps 7 can be tightly wrapped on the outer wall of the furniture board 3, after the furniture board 3 is cut into two pieces, each two C-shaped clamps 7 respectively clamp the two furniture boards 3 to overturn, and therefore the two furniture boards 3 can be respectively turned on one's side.
As shown in fig. 3 to 4, the side-turning component comprises a plurality of energizing slide rails 10, the inner wall of each energizing slide rail 10 is slidably connected with an electric slide block 9, one side of each electric slide block 9 is fixedly connected with one end of each telescopic rod 8, a gear 11 is fixedly connected to the center of one side of each energizing slide rail 10, a rack plate 12 capable of being meshed with teeth of the gear 11 is arranged above the gear 11, the two groups of rack plates 12 are in symmetrical relation, and the number of teeth of the rack plate 12 is one fourth of the number of teeth of the gear 11.
When the cutting tool 4 is in operation, the gear 11 is driven to ascend when the cutting tool is in ascending reset, the gear 11 can drive the electrified slide rail 10 and the C-shaped clamp 7 to ascend, teeth of the gear 11 are gradually meshed with teeth of the rack plate 12 in the ascending process, the gear 11 rotates, the electrified slide rail 10 can be driven to rotate when the gear 11 rotates, the electrified slide rail 10 can drive the C-shaped clamp 7 to rotate, the effect of overturning two furniture plates 3 is achieved, and as the number of teeth of the rack plate 12 is one fourth of the number of teeth of the gear 11, the C-shaped clamp 7 and the electrified slide rail 10 can rotate for 90 degrees when the gear 11 ascends, at the moment, the two furniture plates 3 can be overturned for 90 degrees in different directions, so that the effect of overturning is achieved, the corresponding cutting faces of the two furniture plates 3 are simultaneously and upwards oriented after overturning for 90 degrees, the electrified slide rail 10 is rotated from a vertical state to a transverse state, the inner wall of the electrified slide rail 9 is controlled to slide one end of the other end of the electrified slide rail 10, the two furniture plates 3 can be polished and the two furniture plates can be cut and polished simultaneously, and the two furniture plates can be polished conveniently.
As shown in fig. 4 to 5, one side of each energizing slide rail 10 is symmetrically and fixedly connected with an arc-shaped sliding block 13, one side of each energizing slide rail 10 is provided with a circular plate 14, the side wall surface of the circular plate 14 is provided with a circular sliding groove 15, the arc-shaped sliding blocks 13 and the circular sliding grooves 15 are in sliding connection and mutually fit, one side of the circular plate 14 away from the energizing slide rail 10 is fixedly connected with an inner sliding block 17, the top of the cutting table 1 is fixedly provided with a plurality of fixing seats 16, and the outer wall of each inner sliding block 17 is respectively in sliding connection with the inner wall of each fixing seat 16 and is mutually fit.
When the cutting tool 4 is lifted and reset, the circular plate 14 is driven to lift through the linkage assembly, the first fixing seat 16 can slide upwards on the inner wall of the first inner sliding block 17 when the circular plate 14 is lifted, the first fixing seat 16 limits the circular plate 14 not to rotate, the arc sliding block 13 can slide along the inner wall of the circular sliding groove 15 during the engagement of the gear 11 and the rack plate 12, and the electrified sliding rail 10 and the C-shaped clamp 7 rotate for 90 degrees, so that the two furniture boards 3 are turned on one side in the lifting process.
As shown in fig. 6 to 8, the linkage assembly includes two connecting frames 18, the two connecting frames 18 are respectively and fixedly connected to two sides of the cutting tool 4, the bottom of each connecting frame 18 is fixedly connected with a connecting piece 21, two sides of each connecting piece 21 are symmetrically and fixedly connected with a hinge piece 22, a shaft lever of each hinge piece 22 is hinged with a hinge rod 23, one end of each hinge rod 23 is fixedly connected with a connecting block 24, one side of each circular plate 14 is fixedly connected with a bending plate 25, and an inclined surface inner wall of each bending plate 25 is provided with an inclined surface groove 26.
When the cutting tool 4 descends, the connecting piece 21 is driven by the connecting frame 18 to descend, the connecting piece 21 drives the hinging rod 23 and the connecting block 24 to descend, when the connecting block 24 contacts with the slope groove 26 and descends along the inner wall of the slope groove 26, the connecting block 24 is extruded by the slope groove 26 continuously, hinging rotation occurs between the hinging rod 23 and the hinging piece 22, the hinging rod 23 continuously rotates upwards by taking the shaft rod of the hinging piece 22 as the shaft center in the descending process of the connecting block 24 along the inner wall of the slope groove 26, and when the connecting block 24 descends below the bottom of the bending plate 25, the cutting tool 4 finishes cutting work on the furniture plate 3 at the moment, the hinging rod 23 is hinged downwards to reset, and when the cutting tool 4 ascends, the connecting block 24 is gradually close to the bottom of the bending plate 25, and the bottom of the bending plate 25 is supported to drive the ring plate 14 to ascend when continuing to ascend, so that the effect of driving the two furniture plates 3 to ascend is achieved.
As shown in fig. 7 to 9, an angle spring 27 is fixedly connected between the top of the hinge rod 23 and one side of the angle spring 27, a first damping rod 28 is arranged in the angle spring 27, one end of the first damping rod 28 is fixedly connected with the top of the hinge rod 23, the other end of the first damping rod 28 is fixedly connected with one side of the connecting piece 21, a clamping component is arranged below the hinge rod 23 and is used for enabling the hinge rod 23 not to hinge downwards.
When the hinge rod 23 is hinged upwards, the angle spring 27 is extruded to deform, after the connecting block 24 descends below the bottom of the bending plate 25, the hinge rod 23 can be hinged downwards gradually under the action of the angle spring 27 to reset, so that the connecting block 24 can be contacted with the bottom of the bending plate 25 when ascending, the bottom of the bending plate 25 is supported to drive the circular plate 14 to ascend, and the lower part of the hinge rod 23 is limited by the clamping component, when the connecting block 24 supports the bending plate 25 to ascend, the hinge rod 23 can not hinge downwards due to the influence of gravity, and therefore the circular plate 14 cannot be driven to ascend through the connecting block 24.
As shown in fig. 8 to 10, the clamping assembly comprises a connecting plate 29, the connecting plate 29 is fixedly installed at the bottom of the connecting piece 21, two sides of the connecting plate 29 are fixedly connected with a fixing table 30, an inner opening groove 33 is formed in the inner wall of the side face of the fixing table 30, a plugging rod 32 is plugged into the inner wall of the fixing table 30, one end of the plugging rod 32 is fixedly connected with a limiting block 31, the top of the limiting block 31 is attached to the bottom of the hinging rod 23, one side of the fixing table 30 is provided with a moving assembly, and the moving assembly is used for driving the limiting block 31 to move into the inner wall of the inner opening groove 33.
During operation, in the descending process of the cutting tool 4, the limiting block 31 is in a state of being attached to the bottom of the hinging rod 23, when the connecting block 24 supports the ring plate 14 to ascend, the hinging rod 23 cannot hinge downwards by taking the shaft rod of the hinging piece 22 as the shaft center due to the limitation of the limiting block 31, so that the ring plate 14 cannot ascend, after the two furniture plates 3 finish rollover and polishing, at the moment, when the cutting tool 4 continues to ascend, the limiting block 31 can move into the inner part of the inner opening groove 33 under the action of the moving component, at the moment, the limiting block 31 cannot keep an attaching relation with the hinging rod 23, and the ring plate 14 can hinge downwards under the action of gravity of the connecting block 24, so that the bottom of the bending plate 25 is not supported by the connecting block 24, the ring plate 14 can automatically descend and reset, and the two polished furniture plates 3 descend and reset.
As shown in fig. 2 and 6, one side of each of the two connecting frames 18 is fixedly connected with a second inner slide 20, a second fixing seat 19 is symmetrically and fixedly installed at the top of the cutting table 1, the outer wall of the second inner slide 20 is in sliding connection with the inner wall of the second fixing seat 19 and is matched with the inner wall of the second fixing seat, and the beam table 5 is fixedly installed between the upper sides of the second fixing seats 19.
When the cutting tool 4 and the connecting frame 18 are driven to descend by the driving hydraulic cylinder 6, the second inner slide block 20 can slide downwards in the inner wall of the second fixed seat 19, and similarly, when the cutting tool 4 and the connecting frame 18 ascend, the second inner slide block 20 can slide upwards in the inner wall of the second fixed seat 19 for resetting, and the stability in the whole cutting process is improved through the second fixed seat 19 and the second inner slide block 20.
As shown in fig. 6 and 10, the moving assembly includes a plurality of circular truncated cone blocks 35, each circular truncated cone block 35 is fixedly connected to the other end of each insertion connection rod 32, the circular truncated cone blocks 35 are made of iron materials, the outer wall of each insertion connection rod 32 is provided with a connecting spring 34, one end of each connecting spring 34 is fixedly connected with one side of the fixed table 30, the other end of each connecting spring 34 is fixedly connected with one side of each circular truncated cone block 35, and energizing magnets 36 are symmetrically and fixedly installed on the outer wall of each fixed seat 19.
When the cutting tool 4 descends, the electromagnet 36 is in a power-off state, the limiting block 31 is attached to the bottom of the hinging rod 23 to limit the hinging rod, when the cutting tool 4 ascends, the electromagnet 36 is in an electrified state, after the two furniture boards 3 ascend and are polished, when the cutting tool 4 continues to ascend, the round table block 35 gradually enters the suction range of the electromagnet 36, the round table block 35 is gradually close to the electromagnet 36 after receiving the suction force, the limiting block 31 is moved into the inner wall of the inner opening groove 33, the limiting block 31 is not limited on the bottom of the hinging rod 23 any more, the two furniture boards 3 can be quickly reset after being polished, the connecting spring 34 can be stretched to deform in the moving process of the limiting block 31, and when the cutting tool 4 descends and the electromagnet 36 is in a power-off state, the limiting block 31 can be moved to the bottom of the hinging rod 23 again to limit the hinging rod 23 under the action of the connecting spring 34, and subsequent cutting and polishing work is facilitated.
As shown in fig. 6, the inner walls of the first fixing seat 16 are respectively provided with a return spring 37, the top ends of the return springs 37 are fixedly connected with the bottom of the first inner slide 17, the bottom ends of the return springs 37 are fixedly connected with the inner walls of the first fixing seat 16, damping rods II 38 are arranged in the return springs 37, the tops of the damping rods II 38 are fixedly connected with the bottom of the first inner slide 17, and the bottoms of the damping rods II 38 are fixedly connected with the inner walls of the first fixing seat 16.
When the circular plate 14 ascends, the first inner slide 17 can slide upwards in the inner wall of the first fixed seat 16 and stretch the return spring 37, when the circular plate 14 descends to reset the two furniture boards 3, the first inner slide 17 can slide downwards in the inner wall of the first fixed seat 16, and at the moment, the descending and resetting speed of the two cutting tools 4 is slowed down under the action of the damping rod II 38 and the return spring 37, so that the damping effect is realized.
The foregoing has shown and described the basic principles, principal features and advantages of the 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.