Patent Application
20200130794
The present invention relates generally to a marine propulsion system and, in particular, to a marine propulsion system comprising a differential gear set mounted in the strut to facilitate driving a second propeller in an opposite rotational direction. The thrust, generated by the first and second counter rotating propellers, is transferred back along the inner and outer propeller shafts, respectively, and the drive shaft to the transmission and the engine for distribution to the vessel. In addition, the marine propulsion system includes a completely closed lubrication system, for lubricating all of the rotatable components thereof as well as a shimming system to alter the orientation/position of the strut and inner and outer propeller shafts, relative to the drive shaft, to compensate for any misalignment therebetween.
Counter rotating propellers are highly desirable for some marine applications. Normally counter rotating propellers are utilized for outdrives, pod systems and outboard motors. Dual propellers, that are counter-rotating, provide a much improved level of thrust efficiency, as well as allowing the thrust path to be straight when moving forward or astern. In addition, the dual propellers remove a paddle wheel effect of a single propeller that typically forces the stern of the vessel in the direction of rotation, also known as side thrust.
What is lacking in the prior art is a strut mounted propulsion system having counter rotating propellers in which the thrust, generated by the counter rotating propellers, is transferred from the propellers along the propeller shafts and the drive shaft and back to the transmission and/or the engine for dissipation and distribution.
Wherefore, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the above mentioned shortcomings and drawbacks associated with the prior art.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a marine propulsion system, with a pair of counter rotating propellers, in which the torque is supplied by the drive shaft and the inner and outer propeller shafts to the first and second propellers, and thrust, generated by the first and second propellers, is conveyed back along the inner and the outer propeller shafts and the drive shaft upstream toward the transmission and the engine for dissipation and distribution, while bypassing the differential gear set.
A further object of the present disclosure is to directly couple the leading end of the outer propeller shaft to the leading end of the inner propeller shaft, so that the inner and the outer propeller shaft can rotate in opposite directions with respect to one another, during operation, while still facilitating transfer of the thrust generated by the second propeller to interface between the inner propeller shaft and the drive shaft.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide one or more contoured spacer insert(s)/shim(s) for either (1) spacing the strut a desired distance away from the outwardly facing bottom surface of the hull or (2) altering the orientation/position of the inner and the outer propeller shafts and the strut, relative to either the outwardly facing bottom surface of the hull, the drive shaft, the transmission, e.g., tilt the strut forward or rearward, or toward the right or the left, or both, to assist with precisely aligning the drive shaft with the inner and outer propeller shafts so that the generated thrust, from the first and second propellers, is directed and conveyed along the inner and outer propeller shafts and the drive shaft toward the transmission and the engine for distribution and dissipation.
A still further object of the present disclosure is to form a lubricate chamber, within the marine propulsion system, which is completely sealed and isolated from the external environment by a plurality of watertight rotatable seals so that all of the rotatable components, e.g., the differential gear set, the needle bearings, tapered bearings, thrust bearings, the differential input shaft, the differential output shaft, the inner propeller shaft, the outer propeller shaft, etc., of the marine propulsion system are adequately lubricated during operation.
The counter rotating propeller system of the present disclosure is designed for use with boats using traditional or conventional straight fixed propeller shafts from relatively low to very high horse power, for both pleasure as well as commercial/military applications. These drive and propeller shafts can be angled at virtually any orientation to comply with the parameters of the vessel design, and the design is fully scalable to meet any power requirements.
Another advantage achieved by the counter rotation at the propeller end makes the shaft design inside the boat relatively simple. The present design does not require a special transmission with any counter rotating mechanism(s). Another advantage is that maintenance is simpler and more effective to complete. The present design allows the complete marine propulsion system to be removed from its gear case as a complete assembly for service, maintenance or repair, without having to remove the main shaft system or strut/gear case from the vessel
The present invention relates to a marine propulsion system, supported by a strut, comprising: an inner propeller shaft supporting a first propeller adjacent a trailing end thereof, and the inner propeller shaft having an interface, at a leading end thereof, to facilitate connection with a drive shaft for receiving torque supplied thereto and for supplying a first portion of the torque to the first propeller; an outer propeller shaft supporting a second propeller adjacent a trailing and thereof, and the outer propeller shaft surrounding at least a portion of the inner propeller shaft; and a differential gear set for receiving a second portion of the torque from the drive shaft and supplying the second portion of torque to the outer propeller shaft so that the second propeller rotates in an opposite direction to the first propeller; wherein thrust, generated by rotation of the first and the second propellers, is conveyed back along either the inner propeller shaft or the outer propeller shaft and back to the drive shaft while the thrust, conveyed upstream to the drive shaft, avoids from passing through either the differential gear set or the strut.
The present invention relates to marine propulsion system comprising: a strut having a strut through bore extending through; an inner propeller shaft supporting a first propeller adjacent a trailing end thereof, and the inner propeller shaft having an interface, at a leading end thereof, to facilitate connection with a drive shaft for receiving torque therefrom and supplying a first portion of the torque to the first propeller as well as for transferring thrust, generated by the first propeller, along the inner propeller shaft back to the drive shaft; an outer propeller shaft supporting a second propeller adjacent a trailing end thereof, and the outer propeller shaft surrounding a portion of the inner propeller shaft; the inner and the outer propeller shafts both extending through the strut through bore; a differential gear set being accommodated within the strut and surrounding both the outer and inner propeller shafts, the differential gear set comprising a differential input shaft, a differential output shaft and first and second idle gears, and the differential input shaft being drivingly connected to the inner propeller shaft in order to receive a second portion of the torque supplied thereto and the differential gear set reversing the second portion of the torque so that the differential output shaft drives the outer propeller shaft so as to rotate the second propeller in an opposite rotational direction than the first propeller; and a leading end of the outer propeller shaft being connected to a leading end of the inner propeller shaft to facilitate, during operation, both rotation of the outer propeller shaft with respect to the inner propeller shaft as well as transfer of thrust, generated by the second propeller, to the inner propeller shaft and back to the drive shaft.
The present invention also relates to a method of using a marine propulsion system to power a vessel, the method comprising: providing a strut having a strut through bore extending through; supporting a first propeller adjacent a trailing end of an inner propeller shaft, and forming an interface, adjacent a leading end of the inner propeller shaft, to facilitate connection with a drive shaft and receive torque therefrom, and the inner propeller shaft supplying a first portion of the torque to the first propeller as well as transferring thrust, generated by the first propeller, along the inner propeller shaft back to the drive shaft; supporting a second propeller adjacent a trailing end of an outer propeller shaft, and surrounding the inner propeller shaft with the outer propeller shaft; extending both the inner and the outer propeller shafts through the strut through bore; accommodating a differential gear set within the strut and at least partially surrounding the outer propeller shaft with the differential gear set, the differential gear set comprising a differential input shaft, a differential output shaft and a pair idle gears; drivingly connecting the differential input shaft to the inner propeller shaft in order to receive a second portion of the torque supplied thereto and drivingly connecting the differential output shaft to the outer propeller shaft with the differential gear set causing the second propeller to rotate in an opposite rotational direction than the first propeller; and connecting a leading end of the outer propeller shaft to a leading end of the inner propeller shaft to facilitate, during operation, both rotation of the outer propeller shaft with respect to the inner propeller shaft as well as transfer of thrust, generated by the second propeller, to the inner propeller shaft and back to the drive shaft
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the general description of the invention given above and the detailed description of the drawings given below, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale and that the disclosed embodiments are sometimes illustrated diagrammatical and in partial views. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of this disclosure or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that this disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiment illustrated herein.
The present invention will be understood by reference to the following detailed description, which should be read in conjunction with the appended drawings. It is to be appreciated that the following detailed description of one embodiment is by way of example only and is not meant to limit, in any way, the scope of the present invention.
In the drawings, the terms “upstream” and “leading end” refer toward the left of the respective drawing, i.e., in a direction to toward the engine and the transmission from where the torque is generated, while the terms “downstream” and “trailing end” refer toward the right in the respective drawing away from the transmission and the engine. Also in the drawings, the terms “lower” and “bottom” refer toward the bottom of the respective drawing while the terms “upper” and “top” refer toward the top of the respective drawing.
Turning now to
As is diagrammatically shown in
As is typically in the art, during installation of the marine propulsion system 2 with a vessel, the drive shaft 14 passes through a hull aperture, formed in the bottom surface of the hull 16 of the vessel, and the section of the drive shaft 14, which passes through the hull aperture, is sealed, in a conventional watertight manner (not shown), with respect to the bottom surface of the hull 16 of the vessel. As the such watertight connection between the hull aperture, in the hull 16 of the vessel, and the drive shaft 14 is conventional and well known in the art, a further detail discussion concerning the same is not provided.
A strut 4 is fixedly secured, in a conventional manner, to a bottom surface of the hull 16 of the vessel by a mounting plate 18 and a plurality of fasteners 20, e.g., a plurality of bolts, six of which are shown in
If desired or required, one or more contoured spacer insert(s)/shim(s) 24 may be located between the outwardly facing bottom surface of the hull 16 and the flat end face 22 of the strut 4. One or more contoured spacer insert(s)/shim(s) 24 may be used to either space the flat end face 22 of the strut 4 a further distance away from the outwardly facing bottom surface of the hull 16 (see
By installation of one or more suitably shaped and sized contoured spacer insert(s)/shim(s) 24, between the outwardly facing bottom surface of the hull 16 and the flat end face 22 of the strut 4, the orientation/position of the strut 4 as well as the inner and outer shafts 26, 28 relative to the drive shaft 14, the bottom surface of the hull 16 and/or the transmission 12 can be readily, but securely, altered. The use of one or more contoured spacer insert(s)/shim(s) 24 is helpful with precisely aligning the drive shaft 14 with the inner and outer propeller shafts 26, 28 so that the generated thrust, from the first and second propellers 6, 8, is conveyed and transferred back along the inner and outer propeller shafts 26, 28 and the drive shaft 14 toward at least the transmission 12 for distribution and dissipation throughout the vessel.
As shown in
As shown in
The strut 4 also includes a strut blind bore 38 which extends from a top surface of the strut 4, adjacent the flat end face 22, toward the skeg 30. The strut blind bore 38 intersects with and passes through the strut through bore 32. As shown, the strut blind bore 38 continues a short distance, below and past the strut through bore 32, before eventually terminating prior to reaching an end portion of the skeg 30. The strut blind bore 38 is sized and shaped to accommodate a differential gear set, and a further discussion concerning the purpose and function of the differential gear set will be provided below.
As diagrammatically shown in
Immediately downstream of the mating spline connection 40, between the trailing end of the drive shaft 14 and the leading end of the inner propeller shaft 26, the driving power or torque from the drive shaft 14, supplied by the transmission 12 and the engine 10, is split into a first portion of torque and a second portion of torque. As discussed below in further detail, the second portion of torque will eventually, after passing through the differential gear set, have an opposite rotational direction from a first portion of torque so that the first and the second propellers 6, 8 will rotate in opposite rotational directions from one another and thereby provide a counter rotating drive for the marine propulsion system 2.
The inner propeller shaft 26 passes completely through the strut through bore 32 and extends out from the trailing end of the strut through bore 32. As shown in
An inner shaft bushing 44 is located on the inner propeller shaft 26, adjacent a trailing end of the outer propeller shaft 28, to prevent over insertion of the first propeller 6 on the inner propeller shaft 26 and also transfer the thrust, generated by the first propeller 6, to the inner propeller shaft 26 and convey the same upstream toward the transmission 12 for distribution to the vessel. As diagrammatically shown, the first propeller 6 has a right handed pitch but, depending upon the rotational direction of the drive shaft 14, the first propeller 6 may also have a left handed pitch.
As can be seen in
The second propeller 8 is securely, but removably, connected to a trailing end of the outer propeller shaft 28. Typically, the trailing end of the outer propeller shaft 28 has an exterior spine while the inwardly facing surface of the second propeller 8 with has a mating spline (which together form a coupling feature). Once the spline of the second propeller 8 engages with the exterior spine of the outer propeller shaft 28, a second propeller nut 48 threadedly engages with a threaded section, formed at the trailing end of the outer propeller shaft 28, to releaseably secure the second propeller 8 to the spline of the second propeller shaft. The releaseably of the second propeller nut 48 also facilitate replacement of the second propeller 8 in the event the same becomes damaged, for some reason.
An outer shaft bushing 50 is provided on the outer propeller shaft 28, adjacent a trailing end of the through bore extension 34, to prevent over insertion of the second propeller 8 on the outer propeller shaft 28 and also transfer the thrust, generated by the second propeller 8, to the outer propeller shaft 28 and convey such thrust upstream toward the transmission 12 for distribution to the vessel. As shown, the second propeller 8 has a left handed pitch but, depending upon the rotational direction of the drive shaft 14, may have a right handed pitch.
A conventional first rotatable fluid tight seal assembly 52 is located between the trailing end of the inner propeller shaft 26 and the trailing end of the outer propeller shaft 28 to prevent water from passing between the inner and the outer propeller shafts 26, 28. In addition, at least a first needle bearing(s) 54 is located between the trailing end of the inner propeller shaft 26 and the trailing end of the outer propeller shaft 28, adjacent to but located upstream of the first rotatable fluid tight seal assembly 52, to facilitate rotation of the inner and the outer propeller shafts 26, 28 relative to one another in opposite rotational directions.
A conventional double row ball bearing 56 is located between the leading end of the outer propeller shaft 28 and a stepped shoulder 69 form at the leading end of the inner propeller shaft 26, closely adjacent the interface. An inner race of the double row ball bearing 56 directly engages with the inner propeller shaft 26 while a thrust bearing collar 58 interconnects the outer propeller shaft 28 with an outer race of the double row ball bearing 56. The thrust bearing collar 58 is secured to the leading end of the outer propeller shaft 28 so as to maintain the leading end of the outer propeller shaft 28 both axially spaced away from the double row ball bearing 56 as well as radially spaced away from the inner propeller shaft 26, while still permitting the inner and the outer propeller shafts 26, 28 to rotate in opposite rotational directions with respect to one another.
A conventional second rotatable fluid tight seal assembly 60 is located between the outer propeller shaft 28 and the trailing end of the through bore extension 34 to prevent water from passing therebetween. In addition, at least a second needle bearing(s) 62 is located between the outer propeller shaft 28 and the trailing end of the through bore extension 34, adjacent to but upstream of the second rotatable fluid tight seal assembly 60, to facilitate rotation of the outer propeller shaft 28 relative to the through bore extension 34.
An outwardly facing exterior spline is formed in the inner propeller shaft 26, a small distance away from the leading end thereof, while an inwardly facing surface of a drive cage 64 has a mating inwardly facing internal spline (which together form a coupling feature). When the internal spline of the drive cage 64 mates with the exterior spline of the inner propeller shaft 26, the mating splines interlock those two components with one another so that the drive cage 64 becomes integral and rotates along with the inner propeller shaft 26 to transfer the second portion of torque. As shown in the drawings, an inwardly facing surface of the drive cage 64 also abuts against a leading end of the double row ball bearing 56 which forms a stop and prevents over insertion of the drive cage 64 as well as assist with transferring thrust from the double row ball bearing 56 to the inner propeller shaft 26.
The leading end of the inner propeller shaft 26 carries an exterior thread while an inwardly facing surface of a shaft nut 66 carries a mating internal thread. The trailing end of the drive shaft 14, adjacent but upstream of the spline, has an annular (e.g., arcuate) groove formed therein. A mating pair of half rings 68 are partially accommodated within this annular groove and the mating pair of half rings 68 are also partially accommodated and/or sandwiched between a chamfered surface, formed in the leading end of the inner propeller shaft 26, and an inwardly facing chamfer formed in the shaft nut 66. As a result of this arrangement, when the internal thread of the shaft nut 66 engages with the external thread of the inner propeller shaft 26, the mating pair of half rings 68 are captively by the annular groove, the chamfered surface and the inwardly facing chamfer so as to retain the spline connection 40, between the drive shaft 14 and the inner propeller shaft 26, and prevent inadvertent separation of those two shafts from one another. In addition, an end surface of the shaft nut 66 also abuts against both the drive cage 64 and the stepped shoulder 69 of the inner propeller shaft 26 to maintain the spline connection between the drive cage 64 and the inner propeller shaft 26 and prevent inadvertent separation thereof. As shown, a leading section of the drive cage 64 is sandwiched and captively retained between the shaft nut 66 and the double row ball bearing 56 and assists with convey thrust back to the drive shaft 14.
During operation of the marine propulsion system 2, the thrust, generated by the first propeller 6, is conveyed upstream along the inner propeller shaft 26, through the spline connection 40, to the drive shaft 14 and eventually to the transmission 12 and possibly the engine 10 for distribution to the vessel. In addition, the thrust, generated by the second propeller 8, is conveyed upstream along the outer propeller shaft 28 to the thrust bearing collar 58, the double row ball bearing 56, the stepped shoulder 69 of the inner propeller shaft 26, the drive cage 64, the shaft nut 66, through the spline connection 40, to the drive shaft 14 and eventually to the transmission 12 and possibly the engine 10 for distribution. As a result of this disclosed arrangement, virtually none of the generated thrust, from either the first and the second propellers 6, 8, is transferred to or passes through the differential gear set, the strut 4 or the mounting plate 18 to the vessel.
As best shown in
As shown, both the first and the second idler gear shafts 74, 76 are primarily located within the strut blind bore 38 and axially aligned with one another such that the first and second idler gears 70, 72 can engage with a differential input gear 78 and a differential output gear 80, as discussed below in further detail. A first pair of tapered roller bearings 82 supports the first idler gear shaft 74 within the strut blind bore 38 to facilitate rotation of the first idler gear 70 with respect to the strut 4 while a second pair of tapered roller bearings 84 supports the second idler gear shaft 76 within the strut blind bore 38 to facilitate rotation of the second idler gear 72 with respect to the strut 4.
A leading end of a blind bore plug 86 carries an external thread which engages with an internal thread formed within and adjacent the open end of the strut blind bore 38. An exterior surface of the blind bore plug 86 also carries a pair of spaced apart O-rings 88, which are respectively received within a pair of spaced apart O-ring recesses (not separately labeled), and the O-rings 88 sealingly engage with an inwardly facing surface of the strut blind bore 38 to form a watertight seal therebetween and prevent water from flowing past the blind bore plug 86 into the strut blind bore 38. However, when the blind bore plug 86 is removed, access is provided to strut blind bore 38 as well as the components of the differential gear set.
A trailing end of the drive cage 64 has one or more teeth (not separately labeled), e.g., typically between 2 and 32 teeth typically about four teeth, or some other conventional interlocking/coupling feature which is/are arranged to engage with mating teeth or some other mating interlocking/coupling feature carried by a drive plate 100 coupled the drive cage 64 to a leading end of a differential input shaft 90. A trailing end of the differential input shaft 90 carries the input gear 78, e.g., a spiral bevel gear having, for example, between 10 and 50 teeth (typically 17 teeth), which matingly engages with the first and the second idlers gears 70, 72. At least third and fourth second needle bearings 92 are located between the outer propeller shaft 28 and the differential input shaft 90 to facilitate relative rotation of those two shafts with respect to one another. In addition, a pair of input tapered roller bearings 94 are provided between the strut 4 and the differential input shaft 90 to facilitate relative rotation between those components.
An input spacer 96 is located between and separates the pair of input tapered roller bearings 94 from one another. A leading exterior surface of the input spacer 96 carries an external thread which matingly engages with an internal thread formed adjacent a leading end of the strut through bore 32 to secure the input spacer 96 to the strut 4. Both the drive cage 64 and the input spacer 96 assist with maintaining the pair of input tapered roller bearings 94 in position during operation.
A leading end of the differential input shaft 90 carries an exterior thread while an input shaft bearing nut 98 carries a mating internal thread. The drive plate 100 is sandwiched between the differential input shaft 90 and the input shaft bearing nut 98. During assembly, the input shaft bearing nut 98 threadedly engages with the differential input shaft 90 to the retain pair of input tapered roller bearings 94 and maintain engagement of the input gear 78 with the first and second idlers gears 70, 72.
A leading end of a differential output shaft 102 carries an output gear 80, e.g., a spiral bevel gear having, for example, between 10 and 50 teeth (typically 17 teeth), which also matingly engages with the first and second idlers gears 70, 72. An inwardly facing surface of an intermediate/trailing section of the differential output shaft 102 carries an inwardly facing spline while an outwardly facing surface of the outer propeller shaft 28 carries a mating spline, which together form a coupling feature or torque transfer spline 104. When the spline of the differential output shaft 102 mates with the spline of the outer propeller shaft 28, the torque received by the output gear 80 and the differential output shaft 102 is transferred to the outer propeller shaft 28 and onto the second propeller 8. A pair of output tapered roller bearings 106 is provided between the strut 4 and the differential output shaft 102 to facilitate relative rotation between those components.
An output spacer 108 is located between and separates the pair of output tapered roller bearings 106 from one another. The output spacer 108 maintains the desired spacing or separation between the pair of output tapered roller bearings 106.
A trailing end of the differential output shaft 102 has an exterior thread while an output shaft bearing nut 110 carries a mating internal thread. During assembly, the output shaft bearing nut 110 threadedly engages with the differential output shaft 102 to retain the pair of output tapered roller bearings 106 and maintain engagement of the output gear 80 with the first and second idlers gears 70, 72.
In view of the above arrangement, the drive shaft 14, the inner propeller shaft 26, the drive cage 64 and the differential input shaft 90 and the input gear 78 are all driven in a first rotational direction. The second portion of torque, transferred by the input gear 78, drives the first and second idler gears 70, 72. The first and second idler gears 70, 72, in turn, drive the output gear 80 of the differential output shaft 102 in an opposite rotational direction to the differential input shaft 90. As a result of the second portion of torque passing through the differential gear set, the rotational torque of the differential output shaft 102 is reversed from that of the differential input shaft 90, i.e., they rotate in opposite rotational directions to one another. This second portion of torque is then conveyed to the outer propeller shaft 28 and the second propeller 8 which rotate in an opposite direction from the drive shaft 14, the inner propeller shaft 26, the first propeller 6 and the differential input shaft 90.
A nose cone 112 (see
In order to facilitate lubrication of all of the various bearings, e.g., the differential gear set, the needle bearings, tapered bearings, thrust bearing, the differential gear set, etc., the marine propulsion system 2 is provided with a closed lubrication system 2. As shown if
The lubricant passage 122 initially extends from the flat end face 22 toward the strut through bore 32. Prior to reaching the strut through bore 32, the lubricant passage 122 then turns and extends parallel to the strut through bore 32 and toward the strut blind bore 38. The lubricant passage 122 intersects with and passes through the strut blind bore 38 and extends to the leading end of the strut 4. The lubricant passage 122 is designed to supply lubricant to the various rotating components, e.g., the differential gear set, the needle bearings 54, 62, 92, the tapered bearings 82, 84, 94, 106, the thrust bearing 56, the differential input shaft 90, the differential output shaft 102, the inner propeller shaft 26, the outer propeller shaft 28, etc., during operation of the marine propulsion system 2. Typically, the fluid level of the lubricant, contained within the lubrication system, is sufficient to completely immerse all of the rotatable components of the marine propulsion system 2 within lubricant so they are sufficiently lubricated during operation.
As noted above, a watertight seal 116, 88, 36, 60, 52 is formed between the drive shaft 14 and the nose cone 112, between the nose cone 112 and the strut 4, between the strut blind bore 38 and the blind bore plug 86, between the strut through bore 32 and the through bore extension 34, between the through bore extension 34 and the outer propeller shaft 28, between the outer propeller shaft 28 and the inner propeller shaft 26, and between one or more lubricant plugs and the lubricant passage 122 to prevent any water from flowing toward the rotating components accommodated within the strut through bore 32. Such watertight rotatable seals cooperate with one another to define a lubricate chamber which is completely sealed and isolated from the external water environment.
As shown in
While the various drive connections have been described as generally being mating spline connections, it is to be appreciated that any other conventional connection mechanism or coupling feature may instead be utilized for transferring torque and/or thrust, from one shaft/component to another shaft/component, without the departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is apparent that various modifications and alterations of the disclosed embodiment(s) will occur to and be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be expressly understood that all such modifications and alterations are within the scope and spirit of the present invention, as set forth in the appended claims. Further, the invention(s) described herein is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various other related ways. In addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having,” and variations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items while only the terms “consisting of” and “consisting only of” are to be construed in a limitative sense.
The foregoing description is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of this disclosure. It is intended that the scope of the present disclosure not be limited by the detailed description, but rather by the claims appended hereto.
It will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Although operations are depicted in the drawings a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular shown order or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results.
