Method for inspecting the quality in resistance welding

A method for inspecting the quality of the resistance weld, in which the adhesive force between twisted wires, as materials to be welded in a welding portion, can be predicted on the basis of the inter-tip resistance between electrodes, so that the quality of the weld can be evaluated accurately. The method comprises the steps of: measuring a welding width of the welding portion; calculating a reference welding height of the welding portion from the measured welding width on the basis of a predetermined reference welding sectional area of the welding portion; passing the welding current through the welding portion until the height of the welding portion reaches the calculated reference welding height; and inspecting the state of welding of the twisted wires on the basis of a bottom value of inter-tip resistance of the pair of electrodes in an initial stage of conduction of the welding current.

The present invention relates to a method for inspecting the quality of a
 resistance weld formed, for example, when a strand composed of twisted
 copper wires of one electric cable and a strand composed of twisted copper
 wires of the other electric cable are put on one another and pressed
 between a pair of electrodes, and a large current is passed through the
 strands for a short time to utilize resistance heating caused by the
 current conduction to thereby perform resistance welding.
 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 A conventional resistance welding apparatus for welding the strands
 composed of twisted copper wires of a pair of electric cables, for
 example, comprises an apparatus using an AC thyristor system (a system in
 which thyristors are used as electric source switches for performing
 welding current regulation continuously by changing the firing phase of
 the thyristors) as shown in FIG. 8(a). The resistance welding apparatus 1
 is designed to perform resistance welding on a stack of strands 31 and 31'
 composed of twisted copper wires of a pair of electrically insulating
 coated electric cables 30 and 30' (hereinafter simply referred to as
 "cables") as illustrated in FIG. 9. The resistance welding apparatus 1 has
 a box-like apparatus body 2 which is substantially U-shaped in side view.
 A cable-setting jig 3 is disposed in the center of the apparatus body 2.
 An air cylinder 4 is attached to the upper front of the apparatus body 2.
 A pair of upper and lower electrodes 5A and 5B pass a welding current
 therebetween and are provided below the air cylinder 4, and the
 cable-setting jig 3 respectively. These thus serves to pass the current
 through a welding portion of the strands 31 and 31' and also serve to
 apply a predetermined amount of pressure to the welding portion.
 The upper electrode 5A is connected to a piston rod 4a of the air cylinder
 4 through an electrode holder 6 so as to move vertically. Further, the
 upper electrode 5A is also connected, through an ounce copper plate 8, to
 a welding transformer (electric source) 7, which serves to supply a
 welding current. Further, the lower electrode 5B is fixed to the center
 portion of the apparatus body 2 and is connected to the welding
 transformer 7. As shown in FIG. 8(b), the welding transformer 7 is
 connected to a welding timer 9, which serves to set the current value and
 current-conduction time of the welding current. An electromagnetic valve
 4A of the air cylinder 4 is opened/closed on the basis of conduction-start
 and conduction-end signals obtained from the welding timer 9. As shown in
 FIG. 9, each of the electrodes 5A and 5B is constituted by a columnar
 chromium-copper matter 5a and a rectangular tungsten tip 5b.
 The step of performing resistance welding of the overlapping strands 31 and
 31' of the pair of cables 30 and 30', by means of the AC thyristor system
 resistance welding apparatus 1 as shown in FIG. 9, will be described with
 reference to a flow chart shown in FIG. 10. First, after the exposed
 strands 31 and 31' of the pair of cables 30 and 30' are put in between the
 pair of electrodes 5A and 5B through the cable-setting jig 3, a start
 input switch 9A is turned on so that the welding timer 9 starts (step S1).
 As a result, the electromagnetic valve 4A, that is connected to a
 (not-shown) compression air source, is opened and the upper electrode 5A
 is moved down by the air cylinder 4. After completion of initial pressure
 application to the strands 31 and 31' between the pair of electrodes 5A
 and 5B (step S2), a welding current is passed between the pair of
 electrodes 5A and 5B alternately upward and downward by the welding
 transformer 7 (step S3). The welding current is passed for the
 current-conduction time which is set (fixed) in advance. Resistance
 heating caused by the conduction of the welding current is utilized so
 that the strands 31 and 31' are subjected to thermo-compression bonding.
 After resistance welding, the current conduction is stopped (step S4).
 Then, cooling is performed while the pressure application state between
 the pair of electrodes 5A and 5B is held for a predetermined time (step
 S5). The operation for the steps S2 to S5 is carried out automatically
 under the sequence control of the welding timer 9. Then, when the
 pressurized state is canceled, the resistance welding is completed (step
 S6). Such technique is disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication
 Nos. Hei-1-278973 and Hei-5-329661.
 The inter-tip resistance (calculated on the basis of an inter-tip voltage
 value and a current value under current conduction) between the pair of
 electrodes 5A and 5B, which shows a correlation with the adhesive force,
 is used in a non-destructive inspection method for inspecting the
 characteristics of the weld, such as the welding strength (inter-wire
 adhesive force), or the like, that bond the twisted copper wires in
 strands 31 and 31'. As shown in FIG. 11, in the case where the twisted
 copper wire in strands 31 and 31' are welded, these are two noteable
 effects. First, the inter-tip resistance value in an initial stage of
 current conduction (up to about 2 cycles in the case of an AC system) is
 high compared with that in copper plates, or the like, because a space is
 generated between the strands 31 and 31'. Second, variations occur in
 contact resistance because the state of the alignment of the strands 31
 and 31' is not uniform. Accordingly, when the inter-tip resistance is
 measured during the entire period of current conduction and averaged to
 evaluate the state of the weld, the inter-tip resistance is greatly
 affected by the contact resistance between the strands 31 and 31' in the
 initial stage of current conduction. As a result, the state of heating
 (increase of specific resistance) of the pair of electrodes 5A and 5B made
 from tungsten, or the like, cannot be determined accurately, so that the
 welding strength (adhesive force) cannot be predicted.
 Therefore, the present invention is designed to solve the above problem.
 Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method
 for inspecting the quality of a resistance weld, in which the adhesive
 force between the twisted wires of the strands as materials to be welded
 can be predicted on the basis of the inter-tip resistance between
 electrodes so that the welding quality can be evaluated accurately.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention concerns a method for inspecting the quality of a
 resistance weld formed by passing a welding current between a pair of
 electrodes and through a welding portion of a material to be welded and
 applying pressure between the electrodes to the welding portion of twisted
 wires to be joined for thermo-compression bonding of the welding portion
 to thereby perform resistance welding of the welding portion under
 pressure applied between the pair of electrodes.
 In a first embodiment, the present method comprises the steps of: measuring
 a welding width of the welding portion; calculating a reference welding
 height of the welding portion from the measured welding width on the basis
 of a predetermined reference welding sectional area of the welding
 portion; passing the welding current between the electrodes and through
 the welding portion until the height of the welding portion reaches the
 calculated reference welding height; and inspecting the state of the weld
 joining the twisted wires on the basis of substantially lowest values of
 inter-tip resistance of the pair of electrodes in an initial stage of
 conduction of the welding current.
 In the first embodiment of the present method for inspecting the quality of
 resistance welding, the bottom value of inter-tip resistance in the
 initial stage of the conduction of a welding current is determined on the
 basis of the state of the twisted wires and the welding current value.
 Accordingly, the adhesive force between the twisted wires which have been
 welded together can be predicted without measuring the temperature rising
 in the electrodes and the twisted wires after a lowest value is reached,
 so that the welding quality of the twisted wires that are welded together
 can be evaluated accurately.
 According to a second embodiment of the invention, the present method
 comprises the steps of: measuring a welding width of the welding portion;
 calculating a reference welding height of the welding portion from the
 measured welding width on the basis of a predetermined reference welding
 sectional area of the welding portion; passing the welding current between
 the electrodes and through the welding portion until the height of the
 welding portion reaches the calculated reference welding height; and
 inspecting the state of the weld joining the twisted wires on the basis of
 a difference resistance value between a substantially lowest value of
 inter-tip resistance between the pair of electrodes in an initial stage of
 conduction of the welding current and the inter-tip resistance value at
 the time of stop of the current conduction.
 In the second embodiment of the present method for inspecting the quality
 of resistance welding, the difference resistance value in the inter-tip
 resistance after a lowest value in the initial stage of conduction of the
 welding current is used as a subject of evaluation of the welding state of
 the twisted wires. Accordingly, the contact resistance peculiar to the
 twisted wires is canceled so that the inter-tip resistance which is caused
 by the temperature rising in the electrodes and the twisted wires, and
 which has strong correlation with adhesive force, can be predicted.
 Accordingly, the welding quality of the twisted wires welded with each
 other can be evaluated accurately.
 According to a third embodiment of the invention, the present invention
 comprises the steps of: measuring a welding width of the welding portion;
 calculating a reference welding height of the welding portion from the
 measured welding width on the basis of a predetermined reference welding
 sectional area of the welding portion; passing the welding current between
 the electrodes and through the welding portion until the height of the
 welding portion reaches the calculated reference welding height; and
 inspecting the state of the weld joining the twisted wires on the basis of
 an average resistance value from a substantially lowest value of inter-tip
 resistance of the pair of electrodes in an initial stage of conduction of
 the welding current to the inter-tip resistance value at the time of stop
 of the current conduction.
 In the third embodiment of the present method for inspecting the quality of
 resistance welding, the difference resistance value in the inter-tip
 resistance after a lowest value in the initial stage of conduction of the
 welding current is used as a subject of evaluation of the welding state of
 the twisted wires. Accordingly, the contact resistance peculiar to the
 twisted wires is canceled. Thus, the inter-tip resistance which are caused
 by the temperature rising in the electrodes and the twisted wires and
 which has strong correlation with adhesive force can be predicted.
 Accordingly, the welding quality of the twisted wires welded with each
 other can be evaluated accurately.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
 The several embodiments of the present invention will be described below
 with reference to the drawings.
 FIG. 1(a) is a side view showing a resistance welding apparatus used in
 carrying out a method for inspecting the quality of resistance welding in
 accordance with the present invention; FIG. 1(b) is a configuration view
 of a main part of the resistance welding apparatus; and, FIG. 1(c) is a
 configuration view showing another main part of the resistance welding
 apparatus. FIG. 2(a) is a perspective view showing strands of a pair of
 cables which are subjected to resistance welding by the resistance welding
 apparatus and FIG. 2(b) is an explanatory view showing the relation of
 space between the pair of electrodes and the strands of the pair of cables
 at the time of the resistance welding.
 The resistance welding apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1(a) is an apparatus of
 an AC thyristor system (a system in which thyristors are used as electric
 source switches for performing welding current regulation continuously by
 changing the firing phase of the thyristors. The resistance welding
 apparatus 10 serves to perform resistance welding on strands 31 and 31'
 composed of twisted copper wires from a pair of cables 30 and 30' which
 are placed one on the other. The resistance welding apparatus 10 has a
 box-like apparatus body 11 which is substantially U-shaped in side view. A
 cable-setting jig 12 is disposed in the center of the apparatus body 11.
 An air cylinder (drive means) 13 is attached to the upper front of the
 apparatus body 11. A pair of upper and lower electrodes 15A and 15B, which
 serve to pass a welding current therebetween and through a welding portion
 of the strands 31 and 31', also serve to apply a predetermined amount of
 pressure to the welding portion. The electrodes 15A and 15B are provided
 below the cable-setting jig 12 and below the air cylinder 13,
 respectively. Each of the electrodes (electrode tips) 15A and 15B is
 constituted by a columnar chromium-copper body 15a and a rectangular
 tungsten tip 15b.
 The upper electrode 15A is connected to a piston rod 13a of the air
 cylinder 13 through an electrode holder 16 so as to move vertically.
 Further, the upper electrode 15A is also connected, through an ounce
 copper plate 18, to a welding transformer (electric source) 17 which
 serves to supply a welding current. On the other hand, the lower electrode
 15B is fixed to the center portion of the apparatus body 11 and connected
 to the welding transformer 17. Further, a welding timer 19 which controls
 the current-conduction time of the welding current is connected to the
 welding transformer 17. A sequencer (interface) 20 having a sequence
 control circuit not shown, or the like, is connected to the welding timer
 19. On the basis of conduction-start and conduction-end signals obtained
 from the sequencer 20, an electromagnetic valve 14 of the air cylinder 13
 is opened/closed and the welding timer 19 is controlled (to start/end the
 current conduction). The pressure applied between the pair of electrodes
 15A and 15B by the piston rod 13a of the air cylinder 13 is set to be, for
 example, in a range of from about 100 to about 200 kgf. Further, in order
 to obtain a low voltage (for example, about 2 V) and a large current (for
 example, in a range of from 4000 to 6000 A), the welding transformer 17
 has a primary winding, a secondary winding, or the like, which are not
 shown.
 As shown in FIG. 1(a), a width displacement sensor (width measurement
 means) 21 for measuring the welding width W of the welding portion of the
 strands 31 and 31' is provided in the cable-setting jig 12. As shown in
 FIG. 1(b) and with reference to FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b), an arithmetic
 operation portion (arithmetic operation means) 22 having an arithmetic
 operation means (not shown), or the like, is connected to the sequencer 20
 for reversely calculating (S.div.W=H) to obtain the reference welding
 height H of the welding portion from a predetermined reference welding
 sectional area S of the welding portion on the basis of the welding width
 W of the welding portion of the strands 31 and 31' measured by the width
 displacement sensor 21. Also, a display unit (display means) 23 is
 provided in the arithmetic operation portion 22 for displaying the
 current-conduction time from start to end of the conduction of the welding
 current, or the like. Furthermore, a height displacement sensor (height
 detection means) 24 is provided in the electrode holder 16 for making
 detection as to whether the height H' of the welding portion has reached
 the reference welding height H or not so that the welding timer 19 is
 controlled by the sequencer 20 to stop the conduction of the welding
 current when the reference welding height H of the welding portion is
 detected by the height displacement sensor 24.
 The width displacement sensor 21 has a probe 21a which moves horizontally
 so that the welding width W of the welding portion of the strands 31 and
 31' is measured on the basis of the moving distance of the probe 21a.
 Further, the display unit 23 has a liquid crystal panel not shown, or the
 like, so that information of the current-conduction time from the start to
 end of conduction of the welding current, or the like, is displayed on the
 liquid crystal panel. Further, the height displacement sensor 24 has a
 probe 24a which moves vertically and which comes into contact with a
 reference plate portion 12a of the cable-setting jig 12 so that whether
 the height H' of the welding portion of the strands 31 and 31' has reached
 the reference welding height H or not is detected on the basis of the
 moving distance of the probe 24a.
 As shown in FIG. 1(a), an inter-tip resistance arithmetic operation portion
 (inter-tip resistance arithmetic operation means) 25 for calculating
 inter-tip resistance between a pair of electrodes 15A and 15B in a period
 from the start to end of conduction of the welding current in strands 31
 and 31' is provided between the pair of electrodes 15A and 15B and an
 ounce copper plate 18. The inter-tip resistance arithmetic operation
 portion 25 is connected to a current detection portion 26 for the ounce
 copper plate 18 and to inter-tip voltage detection portions 27a and 27b
 for the pair of electrodes 15A and 15B so that the inter-tip resistance is
 calculated on the basis of the inter-tip voltage and current values
 between the pair of electrodes 15A and 15B under current conduction by
 means of time sampling.
 The step of performing resistance welding on the strands 31 and 31'
 composed of twisted copper wires of the pair of cables 30 and 30' which
 are placed one on the other, by use of the AC thyristor system resistance
 welding apparatus 10, will be described below with reference to a flow
 chart shown in FIG. 4. The description will be made by way of example
 about the case where, for example, the conduction of the welding current
 was performed until the height H' of the welding portion of the strands 31
 and 31' reached the reference welding height H, for example, in the
 condition in which the welding width W of the welding portion of the
 strands 31 and 31' of the pair of cables 30 and 30' was 25 mm, the
 reference welding sectional area S was 7.5 mm.sup.2, the reference welding
 height H was 3.0 mm, the height H' of the welding portion before welding
 was 5.0 mm, the pressure applied to the pair of electrodes 15a and 15b was
 150 kgf, and the welding current was 4000 A.
 As shown in FIG. 2(b), after the exposed strands 31 and 31' of the pair of
 cables 30 and 30' are set in the cable-setting jig 12 so as to be placed
 one on the other, the welding width W of the welding portion of the
 strands 31 and 31' is measured (step S11). When the reference welding
 height H of the welding portion is calculated by the arithmetic operation
 portion 22 on the basis of the reference welding sectional area S of the
 welding portion of the strands 31 and 31' predetermined by the measured
 welding width W (step S12), the sequencer 20 issues an instruction to
 input the welding start (step S13). As a result, the welding timer 19
 starts (step S14A). At the same time, the electromagnetic valve 14
 connected to a compression air source (not shown) is opened, so that the
 upper electrode 15A is moved down (step 14B). After completion of initial
 pressure application to the strands 31 and 31' between the pair of
 electrodes 15A and 15B (step S15), a welding current is passed between the
 pair of electrodes 15A and 15B alternately upward and downward by the
 welding transformer 17 (step S16). Resistance heating caused by the
 conduction of the welding current is utilized so that the strands 31 and
 31' are fused by therno-compression bonding (or diffusion bonding) by
 using the resistance heating.
 When the height displacement sensor 24 detects the fact that the height H'
 of the welding portion of the strands 31 and 31' has reached the reference
 welding height H (H'=H) (step S17), the sequencer 20 stops the conduction
 of the welding current through the welding timer 19 (step S18). That is,
 the welding current is passed continuously to perform resistance welding
 of the strands 31 and 31' until the height displacement sensor 24 detects
 the fact that the height H' of the welding portion of the strands 31 and
 31' has reached the reference welding height H. Then, cooling is performed
 while the state of pressure between the pair of electrodes 15A and 15B is
 held for a predetermined time (step S19). Then, the state of pressure is
 canceled to terminate the resistance welding (step S20).
 Then, in the step S18 in which the sequencer 20 stops the conduction of the
 welding current in the strands 31 and 31' through the welding timer 19,
 the inter-tip resistance waveform in the period from the start to end of
 conduction of the welding current in the strands 31 and 31' as calculated
 by the inter-tip resistance arithmetic operation portion 25 is displayed
 on the display unit 23 as shown in FIG. 5(a). In detail, the waveform of
 the inter-tip resistance between the pair of electrodes 15A and 15B in a
 period from the start to end of conduction of the welding current until
 the height H' of the welding portion of the strands 31 and 31' reaches the
 reference welding height H calculated on the basis of the reference
 welding sectional area S, and the lowest value of the inter-tip resistance
 in the initial stage of current conduction are indicated on the display
 unit 23. Because the lowest value of the inter-tip resistance in the
 initial stage of current conduction is determined on the basis of the
 state of the strands 31 and 31' and the current value flowing between the
 pair of electrodes 15A and 15B, the adhesive force between the strands 31
 and 31' welded with each other can be predicted without knowing the
 temperature rising in the pair of electrodes 5A and 5B and in the strands
 31 and 31' after the lowest value. Accordingly, the welding quality of the
 strands 31 and 31' can be evaluated accurately. That is, it is found that,
 when the lowest value of inter-tip resistance in the initial stage of
 conduction of the welding current is in the range A shown in FIG. 5(b),
 the welding quality is so good that the adhesive force between the strands
 31 and 31' is not lower than the standard value and that, when the bottom
 value is out of the range A, the welding quality is bad because of
 shortage or excess of thermal contact-bonding (shortage or excess of
 welding).
 In the case where the welding portion of the strands 31 and 31'
 resistance-welded with each other is good, the gap between the wires is
 eliminated so that the peripheries of the wires are closely connected and
 welded to each other (the percentage of the gap between the strands 31 and
 31' is substantially zero). Accordingly, the adhesive force between the
 wires is stable regardless of the state of alignment of the strands 31 and
 31'.
 Although FIG. 5(a) shows the case where the welding quality of the strands
 31 and 31' is inspected on the basis of the bottom value of the inter-tip
 resistance in the initial stage of current conduction, the invention may
 be applied also to a case where the welding quality of the strands 31 and
 31' is inspected on the basis of the difference resistance value .DELTA.R
 between the bottom value of the inter-tip resistance in the initial stage
 of conduction of the welding current and the value of inter-tip resistance
 at the time of stop of the current conduction as shown in FIG. 6(a), or to
 a case where the welding quality of the strands 31 and 31' is inspected on
 the basis of the averaged resistance value in a range from the lowest
 value of the inter-tip resistance in the initial stage of conduction of
 the welding current to the value of the inter-tip resistance at the time
 of stop of the current conduction as shown in FIG. 7(a). That is, when the
 difference resistance value .DELTA.R of the inter-tip resistance after the
 bottom value in the initial stage of conduction of the welding current is
 used as a subject of evaluation of the welding state of the strands 31 and
 31' as shown in FIG. 6(a), the contact resistance peculiar to the strands
 31 and 31' can be canceled. Accordingly, it is possible to predict the
 inter-tip resistance which is caused by the temperature rising in the pair
 of electrodes 15A and 15B and in the strands 31 and 31' and which has
 strong correlation with the adhesive force. Accordingly, it is found that,
 when the difference resistance value .DELTA.R is in the range B shown in
 FIG. 6(b), the welding quality is so good that the adhesive force between
 the strands 31 and 31' is not lower than the standard value and that, when
 the difference resistance value .DELTA.R is out of the range B, the
 welding quality is bad because of shortage or excess of the welding.
 Accordingly, the welding quality of the strands 31 and 31' can be
 evaluated accurately.
 Further, when the averaged resistance value in a range from the bottom
 value of the inter-tip resistance in the initial stage of conduction of
 the welding current to the value of the inter-tip resistance at the time
 of stop of the current conduction is used as a subject of evaluation of
 the welding state of the strands 31 and 31' as shown in FIG. 7(a), the
 contact resistance peculiar to the strands 31 and 31' can be canceled.
 Accordingly, it is possible to predict the inter-tip resistance which is
 caused by the temperature rising in the pair of electrodes 15A and 15B and
 in the strands 31 and 31' and which has strong correlation with the
 adhesive force. Accordingly, it is found that, when the averaged
 resistance value is the range C shown in FIG. 7(b), the welding quality is
 good so that the adhesive force between the strands 31 and 31' is not
 lower than the standard value and that, when the averaged resistance value
 is out of the range C, the welding quality is bad because of shortage or
 excess of welding. Accordingly, the welding quality of the strands 31 and
 31' can be evaluated accurately.
 The reason why the initial value of the waveform change in the inter-tip
 resistance between the pair of electrodes 15A and 15B in a period from the
 start to end of conduction of the welding current as shown in FIGS. 5(a),
 6(a) and 7(a) is slightly high, is in that the tip diameter of a tungsten
 tip 5b in each of the electrodes 15A and 15B is small enough to obtain a
 satisfactory welding current density. Then, after the resistance value
 falls down, the resistance value rises gradually with the advance of
 melting of the strands 31 and 31' so that a difference occurs in the
 resistance value. Accordingly, if the lowest value of the inter-tip
 resistance in the initial stage of current conduction, the difference
 resistance value .DELTA.R and the averaged resistance value after the
 lowest value are measured, the welding quality in the strands 31 and 31'
 can be inspected accurately.
 As described above, according to the invention, the bottom value of
 inter-tip resistance in the initial stage of the conduction of a welding
 current is determined on the basis of the state of the twisted wires and
 the current value. Accordingly, the adhesive force between the twisted
 wires which have been welded with each other can be predicted without
 inspecting the temperature rising in the electrodes and the twisted wires
 after the bottom value, so that the welding quality of the twisted wires
 welded with each other can be evaluated accurately.
 According to another feature of the invention, the difference resistance
 value in the inter-tip resistance after the bottom value in the initial
 stage of conduction of the welding current is used as a subject of
 evaluation of the welding state of the twisted wires. Accordingly, the
 contact resistance peculiar to the twisted wires can be canceled so that
 the inter-tip resistance which are caused by the temperature rising in the
 electrodes and the twisted wires and which has strong correlation with
 adhesive force can be predicted. Accordingly, the welding quality of the
 twisted wires welded with each other can be evaluated accurately.
 According to a further feature of the invention, the difference resistance
 value in the inter-tip resistance after the bottom value in the initial
 stage of conduction of the welding current is used as a subject of
 evaluation of the welding state of the twisted wires. Accordingly, the
 contact resistance peculiar to the twisted wires can be canceled so that
 the inter-tip resistance which are caused by the temperature rising in the
 electrodes and the twisted wires and which has strong correlation with
 adhesive force can be predicted. Accordingly, the welding quality of the
 twisted wires welded with each other can be evaluated accurately.
 While the present invention has been described with respect to one or more
 referred embodiments, it is not limited thereto and the full scope of the
 invention is as defined in the appended claims, interpreted in accordance
 with applicable law.