Disclosure of Invention
Aiming at the problems in the prior art, the invention aims to provide a floating net cage structure.
In order to achieve the purpose, the invention adopts the following technical scheme:
a sinking and floating type net cage structure comprises a net cage main body, wherein a plurality of uniformly distributed and supported fixed columns are arranged on the outer side of the net cage main body, driving motors capable of rotating and adjusting directions are arranged on the outer side walls of the fixed columns, impellers used for moving and providing power are arranged on output shafts of the driving motors, a central column is arranged at the center of the net cage, connecting columns connected with the fixed columns are arranged between the central column and the fixed columns, the central column, the connecting columns and the fixed columns are all communicated and hollow, feed is stored in the fixed columns, a first conveying auger capable of rotating and used for conveying the feed is arranged in the connecting columns, a second conveying auger used for conveying the feed upwards is arranged in the central column, feeding grooves communicated with the two ends of the central column and used for releasing the feed are arranged at the conveying end parts of the second conveying auger, first sealing plates capable of moving up and down and used for sealing the feeding grooves are arranged in the feeding grooves, be located throw the silo below be equipped with in the center post but back and forth movement and be used for the second to carry the auger to carry the sealed second closing plate of tip, be located inside the center post be equipped with a plurality of evenly distributed's first wash port on the second closing plate, be located the center post outside the second closing plate lateral wall is equipped with the second wash port that is linked together with first wash port, be equipped with the one-way drain valve on the second wash port, be located between the first closing plate throw the silo in be equipped with but up-and-down motion and be used for following the second wash port exhaust clamp plate with water.
Preferably, the outer side wall of the fixed column is provided with fixed plates which are fixedly connected and symmetrically distributed, the two ends of the driving motor are rotatably connected with the fixed plates through rotating shafts, the outer side of each fixed plate is provided with an adjusting motor, and the output end of each adjusting motor drives the rotating shafts to be connected through gears.
Preferably, the middle part of the first conveying auger is provided with a first conveying shaft, the extending end of the first conveying shaft penetrates through the outer side wall of the fixing column in an inclined manner, the first conveying shaft is movably and hermetically connected with the outer side wall of the fixing column, a first helical gear is arranged at the end part of the first conveying shaft and positioned outside the fixing column, and a second helical gear meshed with the first helical gear is arranged at the output end of the driving motor.
Preferably, an adjusting groove is formed in the fixed column and located at the upper end of the feeding groove, first hydraulic rods which are symmetrically distributed are arranged in the adjusting groove, the bottoms of the first hydraulic rods are fixedly connected with corresponding first sealing plates respectively, a fixed frame which is fixedly connected is arranged on the outer side wall of the fixed column, a second hydraulic rod which is fixedly connected is arranged in the fixed frame, the extending end of the second hydraulic rod is fixedly connected with the corresponding second sealing plate, a third hydraulic rod which is fixedly connected is arranged on the inner wall of the feeding groove, and the bottom of the third hydraulic rod is fixedly connected with a pressing plate.
Preferably, it is adjacent be equipped with the energy storage frame that is connected between the spliced pole, be equipped with the battery board that is used for the power supply in the energy storage frame, and still be equipped with in the energy storage frame and be used for controlling driving motor start and rotatory, control fodder automatic feeding's control system, and still be equipped with in the energy storage frame and be used for data remote transmission and the transmission system who controls.
Preferably, the bottoms of the fixing columns are respectively provided with a support leg which is fixedly connected and used for supporting, and the outer side wall of each support leg is provided with a support rod which inclines downwards and can move back and forth.
Furthermore, the middle of the support leg is provided with a sliding groove, the sliding groove is internally provided with an adjusting rod which is connected in a sliding manner and can move up and down, the bottom of the adjusting rod is provided with a plurality of transmission rods which correspond to the support rod and can rotate, the upper end of the support rod movably penetrates through the inner wall of the sliding groove, and the upper end of the support rod is rotatably connected with the transmission rod.
Furthermore, the spout middle part is equipped with the transmission groove that is linked together, be equipped with the reciprocating gear dish of rotation connection in the transmission groove, through reciprocal threaded connection between reciprocating gear dish middle part and the regulation pole, be located driving motor one side the transmission groove lateral wall is the run-through formula, the transmission groove exit is equipped with rotatable and is used for the driven drive gear of reciprocating gear dish meshing, but be equipped with unidirectional rotation on the driving motor output shaft and with the adjusting gear of drive gear meshing.
Preferably, the upper end of the fixing column is open, and an adjusting plate which can move up and down and is used for sealing the fixing column is arranged at an outlet of the fixing column.
Furthermore, fourth hydraulic rods which are symmetrically distributed are arranged inside the fixing column, the adjusting plate is in a hollow cylindrical shape, and the upper end of each fourth hydraulic rod is fixedly connected with the bottom of the corresponding adjusting plate.
Compared with the prior art, the invention has the following technical effects:
the fixed column, the connecting column and the central column are all arranged in a hollow shape, and meanwhile, feed is stored in the hollow column, so that the original mode of feeding through pipelines is changed, the net cage main body can automatically feed for a long time, the defect that the feeding depth of the pipelines is limited is overcome, the net cage main body can sink to a deeper water bottom, more aquatic products of different varieties are cultured, and the problem that the stability of the net cage main body is influenced due to the fact that the pipelines can pull the net cage main body to shake in an environment with rapid water flow in the absence of the pipelines is solved;
by the design, feeding automation is realized, and accordingly automation of cage culture is realized.
The design of the first conveying auger and the second conveying auger can realize the automatic conveying of the feed, the feed at different positions can be conveyed to the feeding groove in the central column in a unified manner to realize the automatic feeding, the design of the first sealing plate, the second sealing plate and the pressing plate can change the feeding groove into a closed space, the pressing plate is pressed down to discharge water from the closed space through the first drain hole and the second drain hole, the design of the one-way drain valve can effectively prevent the water from entering, then the pressing plate is lifted up to change the feeding groove into a water-free closed space, then the feed at the bottom of the second sealing plate can be separated from the water through the outward sliding of the second sealing plate by the conveying of the second conveying auger, can guarantee like this that the fodder is dry when carrying to throwing the material inslot, effectually prevent that water from getting into the center post in, become the fodder moist, become the glutinous paste to the condition of rotting.
Specific embodiments of the present invention are disclosed in detail with reference to the following description and drawings, indicating the manner in which the principles of the invention may be employed. It should be understood that the embodiments of the invention are not so limited in scope.
Features that are described and/or illustrated with respect to one embodiment may be used in the same way or in a similar way in one or more other embodiments, in combination with or instead of the features of the other embodiments.
It should be emphasized that the term "comprises/comprising" when used herein, is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components.
Detailed Description
In order to make those skilled in the art better understand the technical solution of the present invention, the technical solution in the embodiment of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiment of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiment is only a part of the embodiment of the present invention, and not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be obtained by a person skilled in the art without any inventive step based on the embodiments of the present invention, shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may be present. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "left," "right," and the like as used herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only embodiments.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used herein in the description of the invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Example 1
Referring to fig. 1, 2, 5 and 6, a sinking and floating type net cage structure comprises a net cage main body 1, a plurality of fixing columns 2 which are uniformly distributed and used for supporting are arranged on the outer side of the net cage main body 1, a driving motor 3 capable of rotating and adjusting the direction is arranged on the outer side wall of each fixing column 2, an impeller 33 used for moving and providing power is arranged on an output shaft of the driving motor 3, a central column 5 is arranged at the center of the net cage, connecting columns 4 connected with the central column 5 and the fixing columns 2 are arranged between the central column 5 and the fixing columns 2, the central column 5, the connecting columns 4 and the fixing columns 2 are all communicated in a hollow shape, feed is stored in the fixing columns 2, a first conveying auger 41 capable of rotating and used for conveying the feed is arranged in the connecting columns 4, a second conveying auger 51 used for upward conveying the feed is arranged in the central column 5, feeding grooves 52 communicated with each other and used for releasing the feed are arranged at two ends of the central column 5 positioned at the conveying end part of the second conveying auger 51, throw the silo 52 and be equipped with up-and-down motion and be used for throwing silo 52 sealed first closing plate 53, be located throw silo 52 below be equipped with in the center post 5 can the round trip movement and be used for the sealed second closing plate 56 of second transport auger 51 delivery end portion, be located inside center post 5 be equipped with a plurality of evenly distributed's first wash port 561 on the second closing plate 56, be located the center post 5 outside the second closing plate 56 lateral wall is equipped with the second wash port 562 that is linked together with first wash port 561, be equipped with one-way drain valve 563 on the second wash port 562, be located between the first closing plate 53 throw silo 52 be equipped with can the up-and-down motion and be used for the clamp plate that discharges water from second wash port 562.
The design of the first conveying auger 41 and the second conveying auger 51 can realize automatic conveying of the feed, the feed at different positions can be conveyed to the feeding groove 52 in the central column 5 in a unified manner, automatic feeding is realized, the design of the first sealing plate 53, the second sealing plate 56 and the pressing plate is realized, the first sealing plate 53 and the second sealing plate 56 can change the feeding groove 52 into a closed space, the pressing plate is pressed downwards to discharge water outwards from the closed space through the first drain hole 561 and the second drain hole 562, the design of the one-way drain valve 563 can effectively prevent the water from entering, then the pressing plate rises to change the feeding groove 52 into a water-free closed space, then the dry feed can be conveyed into the feeding groove 52 through the outward sliding of the second sealing plate 56 and the conveying of the second conveying auger 51, and after the complete conveying, the feed is sealed by the second sealing plate 56, can guarantee that the fodder and the water of second closing plate 56 bottom are kept apart, can guarantee like this that the fodder is dry when carrying to throwing in material groove 52, has effectually prevented that water from getting into center post 5 in, become the fodder moist, become paste-like to the condition of rotting.
Further, be equipped with fixed connection and symmetric distribution's fixed plate 32 on 2 lateral walls of fixed column, rotate through the pivot between 3 both ends of driving motor and the fixed plate 32 and be connected, the fixed plate 32 outside is equipped with accommodate motor 31, accommodate motor 31 output passes through the gear and drives the pivot connection.
The design of adjusting motor 31 can drive driving motor 3's rotation, can adjust different direction of rotation according to the demand of difference.
Referring to fig. 4 and 7, a first conveying shaft 42 is disposed in the middle of the first conveying auger 41, an extending end of the first conveying shaft 42 passes through the outer side wall of the fixed column 2 in an inclined manner, the first conveying shaft 42 is movably and hermetically connected with the outer side wall of the fixed column 2, a first bevel gear 43 is disposed at an end portion of the first conveying shaft 42 located outside the fixed column 2, and a second bevel gear 34 engaged with the first bevel gear 43 is disposed at an output end of the driving motor 3.
The design of first helical gear 43 and second helical gear 34 can utilize driving motor 3's rotation, drives the rotation of first transport axle 42, like this, the effectual quantity that reduces the driving energy to effectual holistic weight that has reduced makes box with a net main part 1, the come-up with sink, all be more convenient for control, reduced the cost moreover.
Referring to fig. 5, an adjusting groove 54 is disposed in the fixed column 2 at the upper end of the feeding groove 52, first hydraulic rods 55 are disposed in the adjusting groove 54 and symmetrically distributed, the bottoms of the first hydraulic rods 55 are respectively and fixedly connected to the corresponding first sealing plates 53, a fixed frame 564 is disposed on the outer side wall of the fixed column 2, a second hydraulic rod 565 is disposed in the fixed frame 564 and fixedly connected to the second hydraulic rod 565, the extending end of the second hydraulic rod 565 is fixedly connected to the corresponding second sealing plate 56, a third hydraulic rod is disposed on the upper inner wall of the feeding groove 52 and fixedly connected to the pressing plate, and the bottom of the third hydraulic rod is fixedly connected to the pressing plate.
The first hydraulic rod 55 can drive the first sealing plate 53 to move up and down in the vertical direction, and the second hydraulic rod 565 can ensure the back-and-forth movement of the second sealing plate 56.
Further, it is adjacent be equipped with the energy storage frame that is connected between spliced pole 4, be equipped with the battery board that is used for the power supply in the energy storage frame, and still be equipped with in the energy storage frame and be used for controlling driving motor 3 to start and rotatory, control fodder automatic feeding's control system, and still be equipped with in the energy storage frame and be used for data remote transmission and the transmission system who controls.
The design of battery can realize the continuous power supply of box with a net main part 1, and control system can realize box with a net main part 1 when the come-up with sink, and position and come-up place are sunk in control that can be accurate, are convenient for control, also can realize the automatic feeding of timing of fodder simultaneously. The transmission system is designed to realize remote transmission of signals, so that remote control is realized.
Referring to fig. 2 and 4, the bottom of the fixed column 2 is provided with a support leg 21 for supporting and fixedly connecting, and the outer side wall of the support leg 21 is provided with a support rod 22 which is inclined downwards and can move back and forth.
Branch 22's design can insert submarine ground through branch 22, and further improvement box with a net main part 1 and the stability of submarine ground contact, be difficult to rock, moreover, be difficult to the come-up, such design, when being hollow form in fixed column 2 or spliced pole 4, buoyancy's increase can not influence box with a net main part 1's stability.
Further, a sliding groove 23 is formed in the middle of the supporting leg 21, an adjusting rod 25 which is connected in a sliding mode and can move up and down is arranged in the sliding groove 23, a plurality of rotating transmission rods 24 corresponding to the supporting rod 22 are arranged at the bottom of the adjusting rod 25, the upper end of the supporting rod 22 movably penetrates through the inner wall of the sliding groove 23, and the upper end of the supporting rod 22 is rotatably connected with the transmission rods 24.
The extension and contraction of the strut 22 is achieved by the up-and-down movement of the adjustment lever 25 through the transmission of the transmission rod 24.
Further, the middle part of the sliding groove 23 is provided with a transmission groove communicated with each other, a reciprocating gear disc 26 connected in a rotating mode is arranged in the transmission groove, the middle part of the reciprocating gear disc 26 is connected with the adjusting rod 25 through reciprocating threads, the side wall of the transmission groove, located on one side of the driving motor 3, is of a penetrating type, a transmission gear which can rotate and is used for meshing and driving the reciprocating gear disc 26 is arranged at the outlet of the transmission groove, and an adjusting gear 35 which can rotate in a unidirectional mode and is meshed with the transmission gear is arranged on an output shaft of the driving motor 3.
The design of the adjusting rod 25 and the reciprocating gear disc 26 leading to the complex thread and the design of the adjusting gear 35 at the output end of the driving motor 3 utilize the driving motor 3 to rotate to the vertical shape, so that the adjusting gear 35 is meshed with the transmission gear, the rotation of the driving motor 3 can be realized, the reciprocating gear disc 26 is driven to rotate, by means of the reciprocating threaded connection, the adjustment rod 25 can be moved up and down periodically between the reciprocating gear discs 26, because the adjusting gear 35 is arranged on the output shaft of the driving motor 3 in a unidirectional rotation way, the design ensures that the impeller 33 rotates reversely, when the lifting buoyancy is provided, the reciprocating gear disc 26 is not driven to rotate, the extension and retraction of the supporting rod 22 are not influenced, when the support rod 22 needs to be contracted, only the continuous rotation of the driving motor 3 is needed to drive the reciprocating gear disc 26 to continuously rotate, due to the characteristics of the reciprocating screw thread, the support rod 22 can automatically contract and is unlocked with the ground.
Further, the upper end of the fixing column 2 is open, and an adjusting plate 20 which can move up and down and is used for sealing the fixing column 2 is arranged at the outlet of the fixing column 2.
Adjusting plate 20's design makes the fodder in the fixed column 2 after eating, and for hollow form in the fixed column 2, buoyancy can rise, can influence holistic stability like this, and but adjusting plate 20's up-and-down motion makes adjusting plate 20 along with the reduction of fodder and downstream, like this, can guarantee to throw during the food, fixed column 2's buoyancy is stable, has guaranteed to throw edible stability.
Referring to fig. 3, the fourth hydraulic rods 201 are symmetrically arranged inside the fixing column 2, the adjusting plate 20 is in a hollow cylinder shape, and the upper ends of the fourth hydraulic rods 201 are fixedly connected with the bottom of the adjusting plate 20.
The design of fourth hydraulic stem 201 can realize regulating plate 20's up-and-down motion, and regulating plate 20 adopts the design of hollow circular barrel shape, can store more feeds, and when the come-up, through the protrusion of regulating plate 20 hollow circular barrel form, can further improvement buoyancy makes box with a net main part 1, the come-up of being convenient for more.
When the application is used:
before the net cage sinks, firstly, feed is filled into the fixed column 2, the connecting column 4 and the central column 5 are all filled, the fixed column 2 and the ship body are connected and fixed in the feed putting process, the net cage is prevented from falling off, aquatic products needing to be cultured are put into the net cage main body 1, the net cage main body 1 is sealed, then the fixed column 2 and the ship body are released from being fixed, and the net cage automatically sinks due to gravity;
in the sinking process, in order to ensure that the net cage main body 1 can sink to the set position accurately, the driving motor 3 is driven to rotate timely through the corresponding adjusting motor 31 according to the sinking condition, the impeller 33 is driven to rotate, so that a certain driving force is generated, the direction and the distance of displacement can be controlled in the falling process of the net cage main body 1, and the net cage main body 1 can sink to the set position accurately;
after the net cage main body 1 sinks, the support legs 21 are in contact with the water bottom, the adjusting motor 31 is started to drive the driving motor 3 to rotate downwards, the impeller 33 is vertically downward, at the moment, the adjusting gear 35 is meshed with the transmission gear, then the adjusting motor 31 is started to rotate in the direction, the reciprocating gear disc 26 is driven to rotate through the meshing transmission of the gear, the adjusting rod 25 can be driven to move downwards through the transmission of the reciprocating screw thread, and then the support rods 22 are driven to obliquely extend downwards into the water bottom through the transmission of the transmission rod 24, so that the connection stability of the support legs 21 and the water bottom can be improved, and the net cage main body 1 is more stable at the water bottom;
when feed is required to be fed, the adjusting motor 31 is started to drive the driving motor 3 to rotate upwards, the impeller 33 is vertically upwards, at the moment, the second bevel gear 34 on the output shaft of the driving motor 3 is meshed with the first bevel gear 43 on the first conveying shaft 42 so as to drive the first conveying auger 41 to move, feed stored in the fixing column 2 is conveyed into the central column 5, then the first motor is started to drive the second conveying auger 51 to rotate to convey the feed at the bottom of the central column 5 upwards, at the moment, the first sealing plate 53 is in a sealing state, the second sealing plate 56 is in an outwards extending state, the feed is conveyed into the feeding groove 52 along with the second conveying auger 51, then the second hydraulic rod 565 is started to drive the second sealing plate 56 to move towards the inside of the central column 5, the second sealing plate 56 divides the feed in the central column 5 into two parts, and isolates the feed at the bottom of the central column 5 from water, then, the first hydraulic rod 55 is started to drive the first sealing plate 53 to move upwards, the feeding groove 52 is opened, and the feed is released in the net cage main body 1 through the feeding groove 52; after the feed is released, the first hydraulic rod 55 is started to drive the first sealing plate 53 to move downwards, outlets at two ends of the feeding groove 52 are sealed, the feed on the second sealing plate 56 is completely fed, then the third hydraulic rod is started to drive the pressing plate to move downwards, the pressing plate is pressed downwards, water in the feeding groove 52 is discharged through the first water discharging hole 561, the second water discharging hole 562 and the one-way water discharging valve 563, the drying degree in the feeding groove 52 is ensured, the feed is effectively prevented from entering the feed and becoming damp and sticky, and the feed is deteriorated or is not conveyed, after the water is completely discharged, the third hydraulic rod is started to drive the pressing plate to restore the initial position, at the moment, the water in the feeding groove 52 is completely discharged, then the second hydraulic rod 565 is started to drive the second sealing plate 56 to move outwards, so that the feeding groove 52 is communicated with the second conveying auger 51, then, the first motor is started to drive the second conveying auger 51, and the feed is conveyed into the feeding groove 52 to wait for the next feeding.
The fixed columns 2 and the connecting columns 4 enable the whole net cage to store more feed at one time when sinking, so that the original feeding form needing to be conveyed through a pipeline is changed, and long-term automatic feeding can be realized, and in such a way, the net cage can sink to a deeper water bottom to feed more aquatic products of culture varieties in different water depths, and the feed stored in the fixed columns 2 and the connecting columns 4 can better provide sinking force when the net cage main body 1 sinks, so that the net cage main body 1 sinks without other air exhausting modes; during ascent, generally, when the feed is used up, the fixed column 2 and the connecting column 4 are both hollow, so that better buoyancy can be provided for floating, meanwhile, the impeller 33 can provide floating power through the rotation adjustment of the impeller 33 due to the design of the impellers 33, the floating of the net cage main body 1 can be realized through the combination of the impellers 33 and the hollow design of the fixed column 2 and the connecting column 4, the output power of the impeller 33 can be reduced, and more energy is saved;
and the design that regulating plate 20 can move from top to bottom, make the fodder in the fixed column 2 after using, through the pushing down of regulating plate 20, can make water get into in the fixed column 2 of regulating plate 20 top, can reduce the buoyancy of fixed column 2, guarantee holistic stability, when needs come-up, through the upward movement of regulating plate 20, become complete hollow form with fixed column 2 inside, can be better provide buoyancy, and the design that regulating plate 20 can move from top to bottom, the storage capacity of original fixed column 2 of improvement that can be further, improve the carrying capacity of single fodder. Moreover, the cylindrical design of the adjusting plate 20 can enable the adjusting plate 20 to be completely unfolded when floating upwards, so that more buoyancy can be provided.
When the net cage main body 1 needs to float, the driving motor 3 is driven to rotate downwards through the adjusting motor 31 to be vertical, the adjusting gear 35 is meshed with the transmission gear, then the adjusting motor 31 is started to rotate in the direction, the reciprocating gear disc 26 is driven to rotate again through the meshing transmission of the gear, the adjusting rod 25 at the bottom can be driven to move upwards through the transmission of the reciprocating screw thread, then the supporting rod 22 is driven to be obliquely and upwards recovered into the supporting leg 21 through the transmission of the transmission rod 24 to be in contact with the supporting rod 22 to be fixed at the bottom of the water, then the fourth hydraulic rod 201 is started, the adjusting plate 20 moves outwards to drain water, all water in the fixing column 2 is drained, so that the floating buoyancy is increased, then the driving motor 3 is started to rotate reversely, because the adjusting gear 35 is connected with the output end of the driving motor 3 in a unidirectional rotation mode, the adjusting gear 35 does not rotate any more, and the impeller 33 continuously rotates, the net cage main body 1 can float upwards by the lifting force generated by the rotation of the impeller 33, and the displacement of the net cage main body 1 in water can be controlled by controlling the rotation angles of different impellers 33, so that the net cage main body 1 can be automatically moved to a required position
Realize with feeding of aquatic products, the fodder in a plurality of fixed column 2, the spliced pole 4 can realize the long-term automation of aquatic products and throw the material, and is more high-efficient.
Any numerical value recited herein includes all values from the lower value to the upper value that are incremented by one unit, provided that there is a separation of at least two units between any lower value and any higher value. For example, if it is stated that the number of a component or a value of a process variable (e.g., temperature, pressure, time, etc.) is from 1 to 90, preferably from 20 to 80, and more preferably from 30 to 70, it is intended that equivalents such as 15 to 85, 22 to 68, 43 to 51, 30 to 32 are also expressly enumerated in this specification. For values less than 1, one unit is suitably considered to be 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1. These are only examples of what is intended to be explicitly recited, and all possible combinations of numerical values between the lowest value and the highest value that are explicitly recited in the specification in a similar manner are to be considered.
Unless otherwise indicated, all ranges include the endpoints and all numbers between the endpoints. The use of "about" or "approximately" with a range applies to both endpoints of the range. Thus, "about 20 to about 30" is intended to cover "about 20 to about 30", including at least the endpoints specified.
All articles and references disclosed, including patent applications and publications, are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes. The term "consisting essentially of …" describing a combination shall include the identified element, ingredient, component or step as well as other elements, ingredients, components or steps that do not materially affect the basic novel characteristics of the combination. The use of the terms "comprising" or "including" to describe combinations of elements, components, or steps herein also contemplates embodiments that consist essentially of such elements, components, or steps. By using the term "may" herein, it is intended to indicate that any of the described attributes that "may" include are optional.
A plurality of elements, components, parts or steps can be provided by a single integrated element, component, part or step. Alternatively, a single integrated element, component, part or step may be divided into separate plural elements, components, parts or steps. The disclosure of "a" or "an" to describe an element, ingredient, component or step is not intended to foreclose other elements, ingredients, components or steps.
It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Many embodiments and many applications other than the examples provided will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading the above description. The scope of the present teachings should, therefore, be determined not with reference to the above description, but should instead be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. The disclosures of all articles and references, including patent applications and publications, are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes. The omission in the foregoing claims of any aspect of subject matter that is disclosed herein is not intended to forego such subject matter, nor should the inventors be construed as having contemplated such subject matter as being part of the disclosed subject matter.