Abstract:
In the present invention, in order to reliably smoothly recover different kinds of medicines separately and pack them, the apparatus is provided with hoppers  18, 19  with at least two separated passages, and wherein each hopper  18, 19  can feed a different kind of medicine.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a medicine packing apparatus, particularly to a medicine packing apparatus having a mechanism adapted to feed medicines to a packing section disposed in one place. 
     Conventionally, there has been produced a medicine packing apparatus that is provided with a plurality of medicine feeders and that can automatically feed medicines in accordance with prescription data. The medicines fed from the medicine feeders are collected in one place through a hopper and then packed by individual dose in a packing section. 
     However, in the aforementioned medicine packing apparatus, the medicines fed from each medicine feeder are recovered in the same hopper in spite of being many kinds of medicines. Thus, when fine powder of medicines remains in the hopper, the powder has a possibility of adhering to the surface of the medicines that consequently pass through the hopper. For example, when fine powder of pyrazolone medicine adheres to nonpyrazolone medicine, there arises a problem that some patient may have an allergic reaction. 
     On the other hand, the hopper needs to be disposed in a narrow space between the medicine feeders and the packing section, and therefore, the hopper cannot be formed with a large dimension in a vertical direction. Therefore, in order to increase the number of the medicine feeders, the space necessary for disposing the hoppers has to be extended in a horizontal direction. Thus, recovering the medicines with the single hopper reduces the inclined angle of the inner surface of the hopper, making it difficult to reliably smoothly recover the medicines to pack them. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a medicine packing apparatus that can reliably smoothly recover different kinds of medicines separately and pack them. 
     As a means to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a medicine packing apparatus which feeds medicines in accordance with prescription data to distribute by individual dose and pack them, wherein the apparatus is provided with hoppers with at least two passages separated, and wherein each hopper can feed a different kind of medicine. 
     According to this construction, the medicines contained in the medicine feeders can be fed through the different hoppers in accordance with the kind of medicine. Therefore, even if the fine powder of the medicine remains in the hopper, the powder of one medicine never adheres to a different kind of medicine. In addition, even if the medicine feeders are positioned within a wide range (distance) in a horizontal direction, it is possible to make the inclined angle of the inner surface of each hopper large, allowing the medicines to be reliably smoothly directed to the lower opening. 
     It is preferable that a common hopper is detachably provided between a medicine packing position and each hopper, and that a medicine delivery means for delivering the medicines dropped from the hopper to the common hopper is also provided beneath the lower end of the hopper which can not directly feed the medicine to the common hopper. Thus, even if the medicine feeders are positioned over a wide range (distance) in a horizontal direction to increase the number of the hoppers, it is possible to recover the medicines to distribute and pack them. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become clear from the following description taken in conjunction with the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a medicine packing apparatus according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a medicine feeder of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a manual medicine feed section of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a medicine delivery device of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a medicine packing section of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a medicine package belt binding section of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a binding member of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 8 a  is a front view showing a reel member of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 b  is a plan view thereof; 
     FIG. 9 a  is a front view showing a gripping member of FIG. 6, FIG. 9 b  is a partial front view showing a first open condition, and FIG. 9 c  is a partial front view showing a second open condition; 
     FIG. 10 is a plan view of FIG. 9 a;    
     FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing a binding process for binding a long medicine package belt; 
     FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing a binding process for binding the long medicine package belt; and 
     FIGS. 13 a  and  13   b  are schematic views showing a binding process of short medicine package belts, and FIG. 13 c  is a schematic view showing a discharging condition of blank package belts. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the present invention will be explained in accordance with the accompanying drawings. 
     FIG. 1 shows a medicine packing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The medicine packing apparatus comprises a medicine feed section  1 , a medicine packing section  2 , a medicine package belt binding section  3  and a control section  4  for driving and controlling these sections. 
     The medicine feed section  1  includes an automatic medicine feed portion  5  and a manual medicine feed portion  6 . 
     The automatic medicine feed portion  5  is provided with a total of  15  medicine feeders  8  of  3  vertically arranged stages by  5  horizontally arranged columns in an upper panel  7 . For each column of the medicine feeders  8 , medicine passages  16  are formed. The medicine feeders  8  situated at the uppermost position are set at the necessary height for an operator to access them without using a stool. 
     Each medicine feeder  8 , as shown in FIG. 2, comprises a motor base  9  and a feeder vessel  10  detachably mounted on the motor base  8 . The feeder vessel  10  has a substantially rectangular shape with an upper opening closed by a cover  11 . Each feeder vessel  10  contains a different kind of medicine. In the present embodiment, the feeder vessels  10  in 2 columns on the right side contain pyrazolone medicines, while the feeder vessels  10  in 3 columns on the left side contain nonpyrazolone medicines. On the bottom of each feeder vessel  10  is rotatably provided a rotor  12 . The rotor  12  is rotated through a gear  13  by a motor  14  in the motor base  9 . Then the rotor  12  discharges the medicines contained in the feeder vessel  10  one by one through a drop guide passage  15  to the medicine passage  16 . 
     The manual medicine feed portion  6  is arranged to feed medicines (medicines having little chance of being dispensed or medicines having a quantity of broken pieces such as half-tablets or the like) that are not contained in the medicine feeders  8  of the automatic medicine feed portion  5  (for details, refer to Japanese Patent publication 6-37202). As shown in FIG. 3, the manual medicine feed portion  6  is provided with a tablet bucket  22  on a support frame  21 . The tablet bucket  22  is formed with a plurality of distributor boxes  23  by partitioning the tablet bucket  22  like a grating. The manual medicine feed portion  6  is provided with a tablet tray  24  having a plurality of distributor boxes  24   a  with the same construction as the tablet bucket  22 . The medicines contained in the tablet tray  24  in advance are simultaneously supplied to each distributor box  23 . The different kinds of medicines are supplied to the distributor boxes  23  in an area A and an area B of the tablet bucket  22 . In the present embodiment, the distributor boxes  23  in the area A are supplied with pyrazolone medicines, while the distributor boxes  23  in the area B are supplied with nonpyrazolone medicines. The bottom of each distributor box  23  is opened in order of position from the distributor box  23  positioned at one end. The operator has to distribute a necessary number of required tablets by hand (manual distribution) in consideration of the order of opening of the distributor box  23 . The position of the manual medicine feed portion  6  is set at such a height that the operator can easily carry out the manual distribution of the medicines in each distributor box  23 . 
     Beneath the medicine feed section  2 , as shown in FIG. 1, a first hopper  25  and a second hopper  26  are disposed. Each hopper  25 ,  26  has the shape of a substantially truncated pyramid and is made of transparent synthetic resin. Thus, the medicines passing through each hopper  25 ,  26  can smoothly drop downward even in a narrow space limited in a vertical direction. From the viewpoint of workability, the automatic medicine feed portion  5  and the manual medicine feed portion  6  are restricted as to their positions. Therefore, if a single hopper is disposed in the narrow space limited in the vertical direction, it is not possible to make the angle of the inner surface of the hopper large, resulting in difficulty in smoothly dropping the medicines. With the hoppers  25 ,  26  of the present embodiment, each hopper receives the dropped medicines within the extent of each limited area, enabling allowing the angle of the inner surface of each hopper to be made large enough. 
     The first hopper  25  is provided so as to correspond to both the feeder vessels  10  of the automatic medicine feed portion  5  in the 2 columns on the right side and the distributor boxes  24   a  of the manual medicine feed portion  6  on the right side. On the other hand, the second hopper  26  is provided so as to correspond to both the feeder vessels  10  of the automatic medicine feed portion  5  in the 3 columns on the left side and the distributor boxes  24   a  of the manual medicine feed portion  6  on the left side. Thus, even if the pyrazolone medicines remain in the inside of the first hopper  25 , the nonpyrazolone medicines pass through the second hopper  26 , preventing the pyrazolone medicines from adhering to the surface of the nonpyrazolone medicines. Therefore, it is possible to reliably deliver the nonpyrazolone medicine to the patient who is allergic to the pyrazolone medicines. 
     Beneath the second hopper  26 , as shown in FIG. 4, there is disposed a shutter  28  which is slidably guided by a shutter guide  27 . The shutter guide  27  has a plate-like shape. At the center of the lower surface of the shutter guide, a groove portion  27   a  for guiding both side portions of the shutter  28  is formed. On one end of the shutter guide  27  is formed a through hole  27   b  which is positioned beneath the lower opening of the second hopper  26 . The shutter  28  has a plate-like shape with a thickness substantially the same as the depth of the groove portion  27   a . The shutter  28  is formed with a rectangular aperture  28   a . On an inner edge of the rectangular aperture  28   a  is formed a rack  28   b  which engages with a shutter gear  29   a . Driving a shutter motor  29  to rotate the shutter gear  29   a  causes the shutter  28  to move in the directions X, X′ shown in FIG.  4 . 
     Under the shutter  28 , there is disposed a medicine delivery device  30  comprising a delivery guide portion  31  and a delivery vessel  32  slidably guided by the delivery guide portion  31 . 
     The delivery guide portion  31  has a substantially U-shape in its section and is formed with a long aperture  33  in one of the side walls thereof. On one end of the delivery vessel  32 , there is formed a rectangular through hole  34  which opens in both upper and lower directions. The through hole  34  and the bottom of the delivery guide portion  31  define a delivery recess portion  35 . On the side surface of the delivery vessel  32 , there is formed a rack portion  36  laterally protruding through the long aperture  33  of the delivery guide portion  31 . The rack portion  36  engages with a delivery gear  37  provided on a base. Driving a delivery motor  38  to rotate the delivery gear  37  causes the delivery vessel  32  to move in the directions Y, Y′ as shown in FIG.  4 . 
     On the other hand, beneath the first hopper  25  there is removably disposed a common hopper  38 . The inside of the common hopper  38  is partitioned to form both a passage for the pyrazolone medicines and a passage for the nonpyrazolone medicines independently from each other. Alternatively, two hoppers of the same shape with no partition formed may be prepared as the common hopper  38  so that the hoppers can be replaced with each other in both the case of supplying the nonpyrazolone medicines through the medicine delivery device  30  and the case of supplying the pyrazolone medicines through the first hopper  25 . The lower opening of the common hopper  38  is positioned on an opening of a medicine package produced by the medicine packing section  2 . 
     The medicine packing section  2 , as shown in FIG. 5, comprises a pair of cross heating heat rollers  100  and a pair of longitudinal heating heat rollers  101 , which are disposed in a conveyance passage of a packing sheet  39 . The cross heating heat rollers  100  are for heating the sheet in a sheet width direction, while the longitudinal heating heat rollers  101  are for heating the side edge of the sheet. The cross heating heat rollers  100  each have a cross heating surface  102  with a segment shape and a feed surface  103  with a straight shape. Each pair of rollers  100  and  101  is connected to a drive motor  104  via a transmission mechanism comprising gears. In the medicine packing section  2 , the feed surfaces  103  of the cross heating heat rollers  100  are opposed to each other and the longitudinal heating heat rollers  101  are rotated. Then, the cross heating surfaces  102  of the cross heating heat rollers  100  are opposed to each other to seal the packing sheet  39 . Thus, the size of the medicine package can be changed by properly adjusting the quantity of movement of the packing sheet  39  until it is sealed. At this time, roulette can be formed on the sealed medicine package by means of a roulette blade  105  provided on the cross heating surface  102  of the cross heating heat roller  100  (if necessary, refer to Japanese Laid-open patent publication 8-230832 and Japanese Laid-open patent publication 9-202301). 
     In the medicine package belt binding section  3 , as shown in FIG. 6, a distributing member  42 , a reel member  43 , a gripping member  44  and a binding member  45  are provided on an inclined plate  41 . 
     The inclined plate  41  is inclined obliquely downward along a moving direction of the formed medicine package belts. On the side edge of the inclined plate  41  are formed a guide wall  46  in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the inclined plate  41 . On the guide wall  46 , there is provided a guide piece  47  which is movable back and forth along the inclined direction of the inclined plate  41 . The guide piece  47  has a substantially L-shape and protrudes from the guide wall  46  so that a short medicine package belt cut into a predetermined number of packages can be guided between the guide wall  46  and the guide piece  47 . The guide piece  47  and the guide wall  46  have such a height that the medicine package belt protrudes from the upper edges thereof so as to be gripped by the gripping member  44 . 
     The distributing member  42  is fabricated by bending a plate to be substantially U-shape in section. The distributing member  42  is mounted on the upper edge side of the inclined plate  41 . The distributing member  42  is pivotable around a support shaft  42   a  by the rotation of a motor (unshown) so that the medicine package belt can be distributed in three directions in accordance with the packing configuration thereof in the medicine packing section  2 . In the present embodiment, for example, the short medicine package belts cut into three-package units, and the long medicine package belts and the blank package belts can be distributed in three different directions, respectively. Namely, the short medicine package belts are distributed to the guide wall  46  and the guide piece  47 , the long medicine package belts are distributed to the reel member  43  and the blank package belts are distributed to the binding member  45 . 
     The reel member  43 , as shown in FIG. 8, comprises a support portion  50  having guide shafts  49  in both end portions thereof. Each support portion  50  can be made to descend and ascend by means of a motor  50   a  and also to rotate by means of an unshown motor. A circular plate  51  having apertures  51   a  is rested on the support portion  50  so that the guide shafts  49  can slidably penetrate into the apertures  51   a . The inclined plate  41  is formed with an opening portion  52  through which the support portion  50  descends and ascends. A stopper plate  53  is fixed on the lower inner periphery of the opening portion  52 , which allows the support portion  50  to move downward and prevents the circular plate  51  from moving downward. In the reel member  43 , the support portion  50  is rotated at the upper position to wind the medicine package belt around the guide shafts  49 . Then, the support portion  50  is driven to descend so that the guide shafts  49  are released from the medicine package belt and the medicine package belt is supported on the circular plate  51 . Thus, the medicine package belt wound by the reel member  43  can be smoothly conveyed only by gripping and turning the medicine package belt with the gripping member  44 . 
     The gripping member  44 , as shown in FIG. 9, is provided with a moving block  110 , a first arm  111  and a second arm  112 . 
     The moving block  110  comprises a first moving block  113  fabricated by bending a flat plate and a second moving block  114 . The first moving block  113  is supported on a guide shaft  115  and a screw shaft  116  that are juxtaposed. When a motor  117  is driven to rotate the screw shaft  116 , the first moving block  113  moves back and forth parallel to the inclined plate  41 . In the same manner, the second moving block  114  is supported on a guide shaft  118  and a screw shaft  119  that are juxtaposed on the first moving block  113 . When a motor  120  is driven to rotate the screw shaft  119 , the second moving block  114  moves back and forth parallel to the inclined plate  41  in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the first moving block  113 . Thus, the arms  111 ,  112  are movable to a guide position by the guide piece  47 , a reel position by the reel member  43  and a binding position by the binding member  45 . 
     The arms  111 ,  112  are pivotably mounted on one end of a rotation shaft  121 , which is provided on the second moving block  114 , around support shafts  11   a ,  112   a  respectively. Driving a motor  122  causes the arms  111 ,  112  to turn via gears  123   a ,  123   b . The first arm  111  has a plate like shape and has a press receiving portion  124  adjacent to the support shaft  111   a . The second arm  112  has a resilient projection  125  on a distal end thereof and a press portion  126  on a proximal end thereof. When a motor  127  is driven to extend a rod  128 , the end of the rod  128  presses the side edge of the press portion  126  to pivot the second arm  112 . 
     The arms  111 ,  112  are urged by an unshown spring so that the ends thereof move toward each other to grip the medicine package belt between the resilient projection  125  and the first arm  111 . When the motor  127  is driven to cause the rod  128  to extend and then press the press portion  126  of the second arm  112 , the arms  111 ,  112  pivot to a first open condition (refer to FIG.  9 ( b )) and a second open condition (refer to FIG.  9 ( c )). In the first open condition, only the second arm  112  pivots to separate from the first arm  111 . In the second open condition, the second arm  112  further pivots to cause the first arm  111  to pivot and make the open angle large. 
     The binding member  45 , as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, is provided with a tape feed portion  64  for feeding a binding tape  63  and a guide member  65  for guiding the binding tape  63  fed from the tape feed portion  64  to make it circle. The guide member  65  comprises a first guide member  66  and a second guide member  67  which can approach and separate from each other in a direction of thickness. In the centers of the guide members  66 ,  67  are formed rectangular apertures  66   a ,  67   a  into which the medicine package belt gripped by the gripping member  44  is inserted. On the periphery of the rectangular aperture  66   a  of the first guide member  66  to formed an annular projection  66   b  toward the second guide member  67 , while around the rectangular aperture  67   a  of the second guide member  67  is formed an annular projection  67   b  toward the first guide member  66 . The annular projection  66   b  of the first guide member  66  is positioned inside the annular projection  67   b  of the second guide member  67 . The projection dimension of the annular projection  66   b  of the first guide member  66  is half of that of the annular projection  67   b  of the second guide member  67 . The space between the annular projection  66   b  and the annular projection  67   b  defines a guide passage for guiding the binding tape  63 . The guide member  65  is provided with a heat-seal portion  68  for heat-sealing the binding tape  63  fed from the tape feed portion  64 . 
     Next, operation of the aforementioned medicine packing apparatus will be explained. 
     In accordance with the prescription data from the host computer (unshown), the medicine feed section  1  feeds the corresponding medicines. If the medicines can be automatically fed, such medicines are discharged from the tablet feeder  8  of the automatic medicine feed portion  5 , while if the medicines should be manually fed, such medicines are discharged from the manual medicine feed portion  6 . The pyrazolone medicines are directly fed to the medicine packing section through the one passage of the common hopper  38  from the first hopper  25 . The nonpyrazolone medicines are initially fed to the medicine delivery device  30  through the second hopper  26 . In the medicine delivery device  30 , the delivery motor  37  is driven to move the delivery vessel  32  in the direction of arrow Y whereby the medicines contained in the delivery vessel  35  are fed to the medicine packing section through the other passage of the common hopper  38 . Thus, the passages are completely separated, eliminating the remaining powder or the like of the pyrazolone medicines from adhering to the nonpyrazolone medicines. In the case of using the hoppers without partition as the hopper  38 , the hoppers are replaced with each other when supplying the nonpyrazolone medicines and when supplying the pyrazolone medicines. 
     The medicine packing section  2  packs the medicines fed from the medicine feed section  1  by individual dose. Namely, as the elongated packing sheet  39  is unwound and folded in two, the packing sheet  39  is sealed by the cross heating heat roller  100  at positions spaced in the longitudinal direction. When the medicines are received in the opening of the packing sheet  39  through the common hopper  38 , the opening is sealed with the longitudinal heating heat roller  101 . The medicine package belt with the medicines contained is cut with a cutter (unshown). In the case of an outpatient, the medicine package belt is cut into a units of one-week dosages (21 packages) to obtain long medicine package belts. In the case of an inpatient, the medicine package belt is cut into a units of one-day dosages (3 or 4 packages) to obtain short medicine package belts. 
     In the medicine package binding section  3 , the medicine package belts are distributed by the distributing member  42  in accordance with the configurations thereof. The configuration of the medicine package belt is automatically decided based on the prescription data. For example, since the long medicine package belts are produced for the outpatient and the short medicine package belts are produced for the inpatient, the distribution direction of the distributing member  42  may be decided based on whether the medicine is for an outpatient or an inpatient. 
     In the case of the long medicine package belts, as shown in FIG.  11 ( a ), the distributing member  42  is positioned in a middle position so that the medicine package belt is moved straight along an inclination direction of the inclined plate  41 . Then, as shown in FIG.  11 ( b ), the reel member  43  is driven to wind the medicine package belt on the guide shafts  49 . The reel member  43  is stopped when the guide shafts  49  are directed in the inclination direction of the inclined plate  41  and the terminal end of the medicine package belt is positioned at the downstream side of the reel direction with respect to the lower side guide shaft  49  as shown in FIG.  11 ( c ). Thus, the terminal end of the medicine package belt wound on the reel member  43  is directed obliquely downwardly, making it difficult for the medicine package belt to be unwound. 
     The gripping member  44  is positioned at an obliquely downward position with respect to the distributing member  42  and opened into the second open condition in advance. When finishing the winding of the medicine package belt, the gripping member  44  is moved upwardly along the inclined plate  41  as shown in FIG.  12 ( a ). At the time when the arms  111 ,  112  pass by the lower-side guide shaft  49  and one positioned on both sides of the wound medicine package belt, the arms  111 ,  112  are operated to grip the medicine package belt. Then, as shown in FIG.  12 ( b ), the reel member  43  is descended and then the gripping member  44  is pivoted and moved toward the binding member  45 . 
     Consequently, as shown in FIG.  12 ( c ), the center portion of the medicine package belt gripped by the gripping member  44  is positioned in the rectangular apertures  66   a ,  67   a  of the guide member  65  of the binding member  45 . In detail, the medicine package belt is positioned so as to come into contact with the obliquely downwardly situated side edges of the rectangular apertures  66   a ,  67   a . Then, the binding tape  63  is fed to the guide member  65  from the tape feed portion  64 . The binding tape  63  goes around the guide passage of the guide member  65 . At this time, the first guide member  66  is disengaged from the second guide member  67  and then the binding tape  63  is wound to bind the medicine package belt. Then, the overlapped portion of the binding tape  63  is heat-sealed by the heat-seal portion  68 . 
     After that, the second arm  112  of the gripping member  44  is pivoted to the first open condition and the gripping member  44  is moved in the direction away from the binding member  45 . Then, as shown in two-dot chain line in FIG.  12 ( c ), the gripping member  44  is pivoted and moved so that the flat portion of the first arm  111  pushes the medicine package belt to discharge it through an unshown takeout port. 
     In the case of the short medicine package belts, as shown in FIG.  13 ( a ), the distributing member  42  is pivoted to the guide wall  45  side. The guide piece  47  is moved in accordance with a cut length of the short medicine package belt. The gripping member  44  with the arms  111 ,  112  opened in the first open condition is moved to the vicinity of the guide piece  47 . Each time the short medicine package belts are fed, the second arm  112  is pivoted to arrange the short medicine package belts along the guide wall  46 . Thus, the short medicine package belts can be smoothly supplied. When the supply of the short medicine package belts is completed, as shown in FIG.  13 ( b ), the short medicine package belts are gripped by the gripping member  44  and conveyed to the binding member  45  to bind the center portion of the short medicine package belts in the same manner as described above. After that, the bound short medicine package belts are discharged. 
     In the case of the blank package belts, as shown in FIG.  13 ( c ), the distributing member  42  is pivoted to the binding member  45  side. The blank package belts are formed when continuous packaging is not preferred, such as the case of different patients and so on. For example, if the prescription data is different, it is decided that the blank package belts are to be formed, whereby the distributing member  42  is pivoted to the binding member  45  side. In the path to the rectangular aperture  66   a ,  67   a  of the binding member  45  from the distribution member  42 , a guide passage may be preferably formed. 
     In the aforementioned embodiment, although two medicine feed passages are formed by the hoppers  25 ,  26 , if three or more passages are necessary, hoppers with the number corresponding to that of the passages may be provided. In this case, as the medicine delivery device  30 , for example, a belt conveyer or the like is preferably used. 
     As clear from the aforementioned explanation, according to the medicine packing apparatus of the present invention, the apparatus is provided with hoppers with at least two separated passages, and each hopper can feed a different kind of medicine. Thus, it can be reliably prevented that the medicines remaining in the hopper adhere to different kinds of other medicines. Moreover, it is possible to make the inclined angle of the inner surface of each hopper large, enabling reliable, smooth feeding of the medicines. 
     In addition, the detachable common hopper and the medicine delivery means are provided. Therefore, even if the number of the hoppers is increased in accordance with that of the medicine feeders, it is possible to easily feed the medicines to one place. 
     Although the present invention has been fully described by way of the examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted here that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, unless such changes and modifications otherwise depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention, they should be construed as being included therein.