Abstract:
A leash system for controlling the slack in the leash to prevent the animal from becoming entangled in the leash. The leash system has a spool mounted wire controlling the effective length in the leash by forming a loop in the leash to absorb any slack. If the animal pulls away from the person and additional leash length is required, wire can be automatically played out from the spool so that the loop can be opened to provide the required slack. Similarly, the wire will automatically retract to reform the loop and absorb the slack the leash once the animal moves back toward the person such that the effective length of the leash remains relatively taut.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application. No. 61/539,749, filed Sep. 27, 2011, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention is generally directed to a leash system for controlling and adjusting the effective length of a fixed length leash. Specifically, the present invention is directed to a leash system that controls slack in a fixed length leash by forming excess portions of the leash into a loop or folds over the excess portion of the leash to passively adjust the effective length of the leash according to the relative position of the leashed animal. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Leashes are a common means of leading and restraining animals, in particular dogs, through unenclosed locations. In the most basic form, a leash is simply an elongated strap or cord having a handle at one end held by a person and connected to a collar or halter worn by the animal at the other end. The overall length of the strap or cord defines the maximum distance the animal can wander from the person holding the leash. When the animal is at the maximum distance from the person, the leash is pulled taut allowing the person to restrain or direct the animal by manipulating the handle end of the leash. However, when the animal is less than the maximum distance from the person, the leash is slack often causing a portion of the leash to hang near or below the animal&#39;s feet. The slack leash can cause the animal can trip over the leash or become tangled in the leash creating an inconvenience for the person and possibly injuring either the animal or the person. In addition, the slack leash can be dragged along the ground resulting in dirt and other contaminants being transferred to the leash and eventually to the animal. 
         [0004]    Certain leashes are mounted on a spool that allow the leash to be played out to increase the effective length of the leash and rewind the leash back onto the spool to decrease the effective length of the leash. The spool can be spring-loaded to freely play out additional leash as required while automatically draw in any excess leash onto the spool thereby minimizing slack in the spool. The spool assembly typically can include a lock that can be manually engaged to lock the spool and fix the leash length at a desired effective length. However, the unlocked spool requires that the user pay careful attention to the behavior of the animal as the animal can potentially run further than the desired distance before the user can lock the spool to restrain the animal. In addition, the spool assembly typically requires a robust mechanical assembly able to lock the spool while the animal is moving quickly away from the user. The mechanical assembly significantly increases the weight and complexity of the spool leashes. In addition, the constant use of the lock as a brake for slowing and stopping the animal can place considerable strain on the brake, which can ultimately cause the brake to fail. Although, the spool can be pre-fixed at a particular effective length, the same drawbacks that apply to fixed length leashes would then apply. Specifically, the animal&#39;s movements can create slack in the now fixed effective length of the leash causing the animal to trip over or become entangled in the leash. As a wire is often used in spooling leashes instead of flat straps to permit easy winding and unwinding from the spool, the spooling leashes are particularly susceptible to entangling the animal. Other leashes, such as disclosed in US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0037833, comprise an elastic, stretching, stretchable spring or other extendable element that extends or contracts to change the effective length of the leash. If the animal moves away from the person, the animal pulls on the leash extending the leash to increase the effective length of the leash. When the animal moves back toward the person the leash contracts reducing the effective length of the leash to prevent the animal from tripping over the leash. The inherent drawback of the extendable leashes is the inability to fix the maximum distance. Although the limited elasticity of the leash material will ultimately prevent the leash from being extend beyond a specific length, the user cannot readily determine the maximum effective length or shorten the maximum length. A related drawback is that if the animal does become ensnared in the extending leash, the elasticity of the leash could make extracting the animal even more difficult. 
         [0005]    Although leashes are commonly used, certain aspects of the leashes still require improvement. Specifically, regulating the slack in the leash to avoid tripping the animal or tangling the animal in the leash still requires substantial improvement. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The present invention is directed to a leash system that passively controls the slack in a fixed length leash by collapsing the slack portion of the leash into a loop or folding the slack portion upon itself to shorten the effective length of the leash. For the purpose of this description, the effective length of the leash is the length of leash extending between the person and the animal that is not contained within the loop. The leash system passively controls the slack by automatically adjusting the effective length of the leash in response to the tension applied to the leash by the movement of the animal without active intervention by the user. 
         [0007]    The leash system, according to an embodiment of the present invention, generally comprises a spring-loaded spool positioned at a first position on the leash and a wire wound on the spool and attached at one end to a second position on the leash. The wire can include, but is not limited to a round wire, a cable, a braided wire or a flat wire. The spring-loaded spool automatically winds the wire on to the spool when no tension or tension below a predetermined threshold is applied to the leash, such as when the animal is close to the holder of the leash, to pull the first and second positions together to form a loop or fold the leash to shorten the overall effective length of the leash and eliminate slack in the leash. If the animal pulls away from the person and additional leash length is required, the spool mounted wire can be automatically played out from the spool to open the loop or folds thereby increasing the effective length of the leash. The spring can be tensioned such that the spool retains the loop or folds until the animal&#39;s movements apply sufficient tension to the wire at which point wire is pulled from the spool passively without any action by the user. Similarly, the spring will operate the spool to rewind the wire back onto the spool without any action by the user once the tension is removed. The leash system allows for fluid adjustment of the effective length of the leash without any direct intervention by the user. 
         [0008]    In one aspect, the second position on the leash can be positioned proximate to the center of the leash or at location along the leash to define a portion of the leash that is not folded into a loop or accordion shape when the wire is wound onto the spool. The portion of the leash not folded by the leash system can correspond to the ordinary distance between the user&#39;s hands and the animal&#39;s collar or muzzle when the animal and user are walking in close proximity. 
         [0009]    The leash system, according to an embodiment of the present invention, generally comprises a spring-loaded spool positioned at a central point on the leash and having at least two wires wound on the spool. The first wire can be attached to a first position proximate to the handle of the leash, while the end of the second wire can be attached to a second position proximate to the opposite end of the leash proximate to the animal. In this configuration, the spool is adapted to wind both wires onto the spool when no tension or a tension below a predetermined threshold is applied to the leash such that nearly the entirety of the leash can be folded into a loop or accordion shape. The central positioning of the spool allows for the effective length of the leash to be reduced to nearly zero when no tension or a tension below a predetermined threshold is applied to the leash. 
         [0010]    In one aspect, the first position can be positioned at a location along the length of the leash to define a first portion of the leash that is not folded into a loop or accordion shape proximate to the leash handle. Similarly, the second position can be positioned at a location along the length of the leash to define a second portion of the leash that is not folded into a loop or accordion shape proximate to the end of the leash attached to the animal. The portion of the leash not folded by the leash system position the folded portions of the leash away from the user&#39;s hand or the animal to prevent tangling of either the user or the animal with the folded portion of the leash. 
         [0011]    The leash system, according to an embodiment of the present invention, generally comprises a first clip assembly mounted to a fixed length leash at a first position, a second clip assembly mounted to the leash at the second position and a wire. The wire connects the first clip assembly and the second clip assembly to define a loop in the leash, wherein the effective length of the wire governs the size of the loop. When the effective length of the wire and correspondingly the distance between the first and second clip assemblies are at a minimum, the loop is at the maximum size absorbing the slack in the leash into the loop. In this position, the effective length of the leash is at a minimum reducing the amount of possible slack in the effective length of the leash. The first clip assembly can further comprise a spring mounted spool for receiving the wire. For the purpose of this description, the effective length of the wire is the length of the wire played out from the spool. Pulling on the leash to separate the first and second clip assembly draws wire from the spool to increase the effective length of the wire and compress the spring. At the same time, pulling the first and second clip assembly apart opens the loop until the leash is fully taut and the effective length of the leash is at a maximum. Removing the pull force on the leash by moving closer to the animal or vice versa allows the spring to rotate the spool and rewind the wire back onto the spool to reduce the effective length of the wire and reform the loop. 
         [0012]    In one aspect, the leash system can comprise different types and lengths of fixed length leashes. Specifically, the leash system can be fitted to conventional leashes that have a fixed overall length. The slack control of the leash can be adjusted without changing the overall length of the leash by changing the position of the second clip assembly along the length of the leash, where the wire attaches to the leash, along the length of the leash to adjust the size of the loop or folded portion formed. The relative position of the attachment point of the wire along the length of the wire and corresponding size of the looped or folded portion changes the minimum effective length of the leash. Accordingly, a user can tailor the minimum effective of the leash to the size and ordinary behavior of the animal. 
         [0013]    In operation, if the animal moves away from the person holding the leash, the increased tension on the leash pulls the first and second clip assemblies apart to extend the wire and reduce the size of the loop until the leash is fully taut and the effective leash length is maximized. Similarly, if the animal moves closer to the person, the reduced tension on the leash allows the spring to rewind the wire onto the spool to reform the loop and reduce the effective length of the leash reducing the likelihood that the animal will trip over or become entangled in the leash. According to an embodiment, the tensile strength of the wire is less than that of the leash as the leash is still the primary means of restraining the animal. The leash system is adapted to maintain a minimal amount of slack in the effective length of the leash, not to replace the strength of the leash in restraining the animal. 
         [0014]    According to an embodiment, the leash can define a plurality of holes along the length of the leash. The wire can be threaded through the plurality of holes such that the portion of the leash that defines the loop is folded in an accordion like configuration when the first and second clip assemblies are pulled together. As the first and second clip assemblies are pulled apart, the loop unfolds to increase the effective length of the fixed length leash. In this configuration, the slack in the loop itself is controlled to prevent the animal or the user from being entangled in the looped portion of the leash. The approach allows the user to have increased flexibility in setting the overall effective length of the leash without having to compensate for a large loop section, which itself could become a safety hazard. 
         [0015]    A method, according to an embodiment of the present invention, can comprise providing a fixed length leash and a leash system having a first clip assembly, a second clip assembly and a wire connecting the first and second clip assembly. The method further comprises affixing the first clip assembly to a first position along the leash and affixing the second clip assembly to a second position along the leash. The method also comprises winding the wire onto a spool mounted to the first clip assembly to reduce the effective length of the wire between the first and second clip assembly to form a loop in the leash and reduce the effective length of the leash, wherein tensioning the leash pulls wire from the spool to increase the effective length of the wire and open the loop until the leash is fully taut and the effective length of the leash is maximized. Finally, the method can further comprise releasing the tension on the leash to rewind the wire onto the spool to decrease the effective length of the wire and reform the loop. 
         [0016]    The above summary of the various representative embodiments of the invention is not intended to describe each illustrated embodiment or every implementation of the invention. Rather, the embodiments are chosen and described so that others skilled in the art can appreciate and understand the principles and practices of the invention. The figures in the detailed description that follow more particularly exemplify these embodiments. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]    The invention can be completely understood in consideration of the following detailed description of various embodiments of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0018]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a leash having a leash system according to an embodiment of the present invention attached. 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the leash system depicted in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a leash having a leash system according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the leash is tensioned to open the loop formed by the leash system. 
           [0021]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the leash system depicted in  FIG. 3 . 
           [0022]      FIG. 5  is a front view of a leash system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the assembly of a second clip assembly of a leash system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 7  is a front view of a pouch for receiving the spool according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0025]      FIG. 8  is a rear view of the pouch depicted in  FIG. 7 . 
           [0026]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a leash having a leash system according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the looped portion of the leash is folded in an accordion shape. 
           [0027]      FIG. 10  is an enlarged perspective view of the leash system depicted in  FIG. 9 . 
           [0028]      FIG. 11  is an enlarged side view of the leash system depicted in  FIG. 9 . 
           [0029]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the leash system depicted in  FIG. 9 , wherein the looped portion of the leash is partially extended. 
           [0030]      FIG. 13  is a perspective view of a leash having a leash system according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the looped portion of the leash is folded in an accordion shape. 
           [0031]      FIG. 14  is a perspective view of the leash system depicted in  FIG. 13 , wherein the looped portion of the leash is partially extended. 
           [0032]      FIG. 15  is a perspective view of a friction mount according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0033]      FIG. 16  is a perspective view of a leash system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0034]      FIG. 17  is a front view of the leash system depicted in  FIG. 16 . 
           [0035]      FIG. 18  is a rear view of the leash system depicted in  FIG. 16 . 
           [0036]      FIG. 19  is a top view of the leash system depicted in  FIG. 16 . 
           [0037]      FIG. 20  is a side view of the leash system depicted in  FIG. 16 . 
           [0038]      FIG. 21  is a bottom view of the leash system depicted in  FIG. 16 . 
           [0039]      FIG. 22  is a side view of a leash system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
       [0040]    While the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the invention to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0041]    As depicted in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , a fixed length leash  2 , for use with the present invention, generally comprises an elongated strap  4  having a handle  6  at one end of the strap  4  and an engagement means  8  at the other end of the strap  4 . The effective length of the leash  2  is the portion of the leash  2  extending between the user and the animal generally along a single axis. The handle  6  can comprise a loop at the end of the strap  4  that can be gripped by a person. Similarly, the engagement means  8  can comprise a collar, a body or muzzle harness, or carabineer for clipping the strap  4  to a collar, body or muzzle harness. 
         [0042]    As depicted in  FIGS. 1-5 , the leash system  10 , according to an embodiment, comprises a first clip assembly  12 , a second clip assembly  14  and a wire  16 . The first clip assembly  12  can further comprise a leash clip assembly  18  and spring-loaded spool  20 . Similarly, the second clip assembly  14  can further comprise a leash clip assembly  22  and a wire clip  24 . The wire  16  can further comprise a clip assembly  28  positioned at one end of the wire  16 . The clip assembly  28  can comprise a releasable clip  30  and a rotating mechanism  32  for allowing the releasable clip  30  to rotate with the leash  2  if the leash  2  is twisted to prevent torquing of the wire  16 . 
         [0043]    As depicted in  FIGS. 1-5 , the first clip assembly  12  is clipped to a first position on the leash  2 . As depicted, the leash clip assembly  18  is a carabineer for clipping into the loop of the handle  6  at the end of the strap  4 , but can comprise any conventional clip or conventional means for releasably mounting the first clip assembly  12  at a first position along the leash  2 . When clipped to the handle  6 , the leash clip assembly  18  can slide around the handle  6 , but cannot slide down the leash  2 . The second clip assembly  14  is mounted at a second position along the strap  4  of the leash  2 . As depicted in  FIG. 6 , the leash clip assembly  22  comprises a rectangular ring  26  that is fit over a loop formed in the strap  4  of the leash  2 . The wire clip  24  can then be fed through the loop and the rectangular ring  26  slid proximate to the wire clip  24  to fix the position of the wire clip  24  at a second position along the strap  4 . The releasable clip  30  of the wire  16  is clipped to the wire clip  24  of the second clip assembly  14  to connect the first and second clip assemblies  12 ,  14  and form a loop in the strap  4 . The distance between the first and second position on the leash  2  defines the length of the loop that is ultimately formed in the strap  4 . The position of the second clip assembly  14  along the length of the strap  4  can be adjusted by the user to control the amount of slack in the effective portion of the strap  4  so as to accommodate for the height or the habits of the animal. 
         [0044]    As depicted in  FIGS. 3-4 , the wire  16  is wrapped onto the spring-loaded spool  20  such that the wire  16  is played from the spool  20  when the leash  2  is tensioned by the movements of the animal or the person. The spool  20  is biased such that the wire  16  is wrapped onto the spool  20  when the leash  2  is not tensioned or tensioned less than a predetermined threshold such that the first and second clip assemblies  12 ,  14  pulled together and the size of the loop formed in the strap  4  is increased. During operation, the tensioning of the leash  2  draws wire  16  from the spool  20  and separates the first and second clip assemblies  12 ,  14  to open the loop defines in the strap  4  to increase the effective length of the leash  2 . With a fixed length leash  2 , the maximum effective length of the leash  2  corresponds to the overall length of the fixed length leash  2 . Once the loop is fully open, the leash  2  bears the entirety of the pull force applied to the leash  2 . After the tension is removed, the spool  20  rewinds the wire  16  to pull the first and second clip assemblies  12 ,  14  proximate to each other to reduce the effective length of the leash  2  and reform the loop in the strap  4 . 
         [0045]    As depicted in  FIGS. 7-8 , according to an embodiment of the present invention, the first clip assembly  12  can alternatively comprise a pouch  34  for receiving the spool  20  instead of the leash clip assembly  18 . The pouch  34  defines a cavity  36  for receiving the spool  20  and having at least two openings  38 . The pouch  34  further comprises a leash strap  40  and a closeable flap  42  for covering one of the openings  38 . The leash strap  40  can comprise a fastening means  43  such that the strap  40  can be releasably wrapped around the leash  2  at the first position along the leash  2 . The fastening means  43  can comprise a Velcro strap, a button, or any other conventional releasable fastening means. Similarly, the closable flap  42  can comprise a fastening means  44  for retaining the spool  20  within the cavity  36 . The fastening means  46  can comprise a Velcro strap, a button, or any other conventional releasable fastening means. In operation, the spool  20  is inserted into the cavity  36  such that the end of the wire  16  protrudes through one of the openings  38  in the pouch  34  and can be extended and refracted as in normal operation. 
         [0046]    As depicted in  FIG. 15 , according to an embodiment of the present invention, the second clip assembly  14  can alternatively comprise a friction mount  48  that can be selectively positioned along the length of the leash  2 . The friction mount  48  can comprise a loop portion  50  and two wing portions  52  positioned on either side of the loop portion  50 . The loop portion  50  further comprises a rounded surface  54  positioned along the top of the loop portion  50  and a clip protrusion  56  at the end of the loop portion  50 . Similarly, the wing portions  52  each comprise a rounded surface  58  positioned opposite the rounded surface  54  of the loop portion  50 . In operation, a portion of the leash  2  is fed over the rounded surface  58  of one of the wing portion  52  and beneath the rounded surface  54  of the loop portion  50  before extending over the rounded surface  58  of the other wing portion  52 . The rounded surfaces  54 ,  58  cooperated to define a bend in the leash  2  to help maintain the position of the friction mount  48  along the leash  2 . The friction mount  48  can be fixed in place along the leash  2  by sliding a portion of the leash  2  beneath the clip protrusion  56  such that the portion of the leash  2  is pinched between the clip protrusion  56  and the wall of the loop portion  50 . According to an embodiment, the wire clip  24  can be mounted to the friction mount  48  such that the wire  16  can be clipped to the second clip assembly  14 . 
         [0047]    According to an embodiment, the second clip assembly  14  can alternatively comprise a pin portion  60  affixable to the wire clip  24  and a pin fastener  62 . In this configuration, the pin portion  60  can puncture the leash  2  and releasably locked in place by the pin fastener  62 . The position of the second clip assembly  14  along the length of the leash  2  can be adjusted by removing the pin fastener  62  and puncturing the leash  2  at the new location. 
         [0048]    As depicted in  FIGS. 9-14 , according to an embodiment, the leash  2  can further define a plurality of holes  64  spaced along the length of the leash  2 . The wire  16  can be threaded through the holes  64  such that the loop between the first and second clip assemblies  12 ,  14  is folded along the wire  16  in an accordion shape, rather than hanging beneath the wire  16  in an open loop. In operation, when the distance between the first and second assemblies  12 ,  14  is reduced, the loop formed in the leash  2  is tightly folded between the first and second assemblies  12 ,  14  thereby minimizing the effective length of the leash  2 . As the first and second assemblies  12 ,  14  are pulled apart; the loop formed in the leash  2  unfolds increasing the effective length of the leash  2 . The holes  64  can be evenly spaced along the length of the leash  2  such that the wire  16  intersects the center of the folds of the leash  2 . Alternatively, the holes  64  can positioned in pairs such that the folds of the leash  2  hang beneath the wire  16 . According to an embodiment, the leash  2  can further comprise a grommet  68  positioned around each of the holes  64  to prevent tearing of the holes  64 . 
         [0049]    As depicted in  FIGS. 9-14 , the leash  2  can further comprise a secondary handle  66  positioned in front of the secondary clip assembly  14 . The secondary handle  66  can be gripped by the user to immediately restrain the animal at the minimum effective length rather than allow the animal to extend the leash to the maximum effective length. In addition, the secondary handle  66  and the handle  6  can both be gripped by the user to better restrain a larger animal. 
         [0050]    As depicted in  FIGS. 16-21 , a leash system  70 , according to an embodiment of the present invention, comprises a leash  72  and a spool  74 . The leash  72  further comprises a handle  76  at one end and an engagement mechanism  78  at the opposite end. The engagement mechanism  78  can be secured to a collar, halter or other conventional means of securing a leash  72  to an animal. The spool  74  is positioned proximate to the handle  76  and can further comprise a wire  80  affixed to a second position along the length of the leash  72 . In one aspect, the leash  72  can further comprise a rivet  84  for securing the end of the wire  80  to the leash  72  at the second position. 
         [0051]    In operation, the spool  74  is spring-loaded to wind the wire  80  onto the spool  74  when the tension on the leash  72  is below a predetermined threshold, such as when the animal moves toward the user. In one aspect, the winding of the wire  80  onto the spool  74  forms the slacked portion of the leash  72  such that the portion of the leash  72  defining the effective length of the leash  72  remains taut. In another aspect, the leash  72  can further comprise a plurality of bore holes  82  through the leash  72 . As depicted in  FIGS. 16 and 20 , in this configuration, the wire  80  is threaded through the leash  72  such that the slack portion of the leash  72  collapses into an accordion shape as the wire  80  is wound onto the spool  74 . The leash  72  can further comprise a washer  84  in each of the bore holes  82  to prevent damage to the leash  72 . 
         [0052]    As depicted in  FIGS. 16 and 20 , in an embodiment of the present invention, the leash  72  can further comprise a secondary handle  86  at the second position on the leash  72 . The secondary handle  86  allows the user to rapidly shorten the maximum effective length of the leash  72  if additional control over the animal is necessary. 
         [0053]    As depicted in  FIG. 22 , a leash system  88 , according to an embodiment of the present invention, comprises the leash  72  and a spool  90 . The spool  90  is positioned proximate to a central location along the length of the leash  72  and further comprises a first wire  92  and a second wire  94 . The first wire  92  is securable to a position along the length of the leash  72  proximate to the handle  76  to define a first portion of the leash  72  that is folded into a loop or accordion shape when the first wire  92  is wound onto the spool  90 . Similarly, the second wire  94  is securable to a position along the length of the leash  72  proximate to the engagement mechanism  78  of the leash  72  to define a second portion of the leash  72  that is folded into a loop or accordion shape when the second wire  94  is wound onto the spool  90 . In one aspect, the maximum length of the first wire  92  and second wire  94  is each 1 m. 
         [0054]    In operation, the spool  90  is spring-loaded to wind the first wire  92  and the second wire  94  onto the spool  90  when the tension on the leash  72  is below a predetermined threshold. Winding the first wire  92  and the second wire  94  onto the spool  90  creates the first and second folded portions of the leash  72 , which are positioned on either side of the central location. In one aspect, the first and second positions can be moved inward from the ends of the leash  72  toward the central location. In this configuration, a portion of the leash proximate to either the handle  76  and/or the engagement mechanism  78  will not be folded when the first wire  92  and the second wire  94  is wound onto the spool  90 . The unfolded portions act as a buffer between the folded portions of the leash  72  and the handle  76  and the engagement mechanism  78  to avoid tangling the user or animal in the folded portions of the leash  72 . 
         [0055]    While the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail. It is understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the invention to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.