Abstract:
The present invention relates to a multi-mode optical fiber having a structure which can be produced with good stability with a communication bandwidth broader than that in the conventional structures, and in which both GeO 2  and chlorine are added to a core thereof, and chlorine is also added to a cladding thereof. The cladding contains chlorine such that the average chlorine concentration therein becomes higher than the average chlorine concentration in the core.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a multi-mode optical fiber. 
     2. Related Background Art 
     Multi-mode optical fibers are known to have transmission loss higher than that of single-mode optical fibers for long-haul optical communication because of the structure thereof. Meanwhile since the multi-mode optical fibers are easy to connect and make it possible to construct easily a network by using devices with low required performance, such fibers have been widely used in applications with local area information communication such as LAN (Local Area Network). 
     Recently, the techniques for reducing the transmission loss in the above-described multi-mode optical fibers and the expansion of communication bandwidth (transition to a broadband communication) have been actively researched with the object of improving signal quality in the above-described local area information communication. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present inventors have examined a technique for producing broadband multi-mode optical fibers with good stability. In the present specification, the expression “optical fiber” means “multi-mode optical fiber”, unless specifically stated otherwise. 
     Thus, in order to manufacture a broadband multi-mode optical fiber with good stability, it is necessary to match accurately the refractive index profile in the diametric direction of the fiber with the desired shape. In order to obtain the desired shape of refractive index profile, firstly, it is necessary to add GeO 2  to obtain the correct concentration in the diametric direction, but such a measure is not always sufficient. For example, in an optical fiber obtained after drawing a preform, the refractive index profile slightly varies under the effect of residual stresses inside the optical fiber. In this case, it is important to reduce somehow the effect of residual stresses on refractive index fluctuations or maintain the same profile at all times in the optical fiber production process. The residual stresses are affected by tension applied to the optical fiber when the preform is drawn and solidification conditions of the drawn optical fiber. It would be desirable to reduce the residual stresses to zero, but in fact it is difficult. For example, when the optical fiber is cooled after drawing, the optical fiber temperature decreases from the surface of the optical fiber toward the interior thereof, and glass serving as a fiber material solidifies as the fiber cooling process proceeds, and as a result, stresses can remain inside the optical fiber under certain solidification conditions. In particular, since GeO 2  has been added to the core and the expansion coefficient of the core is higher than that of the cladding, the core shrinks significantly during fiber cooling and stresses caused by such shrinking also remain in the obtained optical fibers. 
     With consideration for the above-described facts, the inventors have discovered that the timings of glass solidification in sections along the diametric direction can be brought very close to each other by purposefully controlling the chlorine concentration profile in the multi-mode optical fiber that is being produced. This finding led to the creation of the present invention. 
     The present invention has been developed to eliminate the problems described above. It is an object of the present invention to provide a multi-mode optical fiber having a structure that can be produced with good stability with a communication bandwidth broader than that in the conventional structures. 
     The present invention relates to a multi-mode optical fiber of a GI (Graded Index) type, and such a multi-mode optical fiber is clearly distinguishable from single-mode optical fibers for long-haul transmission. 
     That is, a multi-mode optical fiber according to the present invention comprises a core extending along a predetermined axis and doped with germanium dioxide (GeO 2 ), and a cladding provided on an outer periphery of the core and having a refractive index lower than that of the core. In a refractive index profile in the diametric direction of the multi-mode optical fiber, an a value of a portion corresponding to the core is 1.9 to 2.2, a relative refractive index difference Δ (maximum refractive index difference of the core) of the core center with respect to a reference region in the cladding is 0.8 to 1.2%, and the core diameter  2   a  is 47.5 to 52.5 μm. 
     In the multi-mode optical fiber having the above-described structure, both of the core and the cladding are doped with chlorine, and in particular, the cladding is doped with chlorine such that the average chlorine concentration in the cladding becomes higher than an average chlorine concentration in the core. 
     As described above, the core is doped with GeO 2 , and consequently the glass viscosity of the core is reduced. Hence, in this multi-mode optical fiber, as a structure which brings the glass viscosity of the cladding closer to that of the core, chlorine is added to the cladding such that its average concentration is higher than the average concentration in the core. By means of this configuration, the difference in glass solidification temperatures between the core and the cladding after drawing a preform can be made small. As a result, residual stress within the multi-mode optical fiber obtained after drawing a preform is reduced, and the refractive index change after glass solidification can be made small. 
     Further, in the multi-mode optical fiber according to the present invention, it is preferable that the chlorine concentration in the cladding be substantially constant, or else increase, along a radial direction of the multi-mode optical fiber from the inner peripheral surface of the cladding closest to the core toward the outer peripheral surface of the cladding opposing the inner peripheral surface. 
     In the chlorine concentration profile along the diametric direction of the multi-mode optical fiber, when the portion corresponding to the cladding has a shape such that the chlorine concentration increases from the center of the multi-mode optical fiber along the radial direction, during the cooling process after drawing a preform, the timing of glass solidification is made closer in the inside region including the inner peripheral face of the cladding (region near the core) and in the outside region including the outer peripheral face. As a result, residual stress within the optical fiber can be reduced, and bandwidth stability of the multi-mode optical fiber can be realized as a result. 
     As described above, in the multi-mode optical fiber according to the present invention, the change in refractive index profile before and after drawing a preform is kept small, and consequently application to broadband mult-mode optical fibers in particular is possible. More specifically, the present invention can be applied to broadband multi-mode optical fibers called OM3 and OM4 that are stipulated by the International Standard ISO/IEC 11801. For example, the OM3 multi-mode optical fiber represents a fiber in which the bandwidth called a minimum effective bandwidth is equal to or greater than 2000 MHz·km and a bandwidth at full mode oscillation (OFL bandwidth stipulated by the International Standard IEC 60793-1-41) is equal to or greater than 1500 MHz·km at 850 nm and equal to or greater than 500 MHz·km at 1300 nm. 
     The present invention will be more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings, which are given by way of illustration only and are not to be considered as limiting the present invention. 
     Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the scope of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  shows a representative cross-sectional structure of a multi-mode optical fiber according to the present invention;  FIG. 1B  shows a refractive index profile thereof; 
         FIG. 2  is an example of a chlorine concentration profile applied to a multi-mode optical fiber according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is another example of a chlorine concentration profile applied to a multi-mode optical fiber according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a view for explaining a VAD method and an apparatus configuration applied to core preform manufacturing processes; 
         FIG. 5A  is a view for explaining a dehydration process (chlorine addition process) and apparatus configuration;  FIG. 5B  is a view for explaining a sintering (rarefaction) processing and apparatus configuration; 
         FIG. 6A  shows a structure of a core preform after stretching;  FIG. 6B  is a view for explaining a VAD method and an apparatus configuration applied to manufacturing processes for a periphery portion of a preform which becomes the cladding; 
         FIG. 7A  shows a structure of an optical fiber preform obtained;  FIG. 7B  shows a chlorine concentration profile along a diametric direction of the preform for a multi-mode optical fiber according to first embodiment;  FIG. 7C  shows a chlorine concentration profile along a diametric direction of a preform for a multi-mode optical fiber according to a second embodiment;  FIG. 7D  shows a chlorine concentration profile along a diametric direction of a preform for a multi-mode optical fiber according to a comparative example prepared for comparison with the optical characteristics of the first and second embodiments; and 
         FIG. 8  is a view for explaining process and apparatus configuration for drawing of an optical fiber preform obtained. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In the following, embodiments of the multi-mode optical fiber according to the present invention are explained in detail with reference to  FIG. 1A to 1B ,  2  to  4 ,  5 A to  7 D, and  8 . In the description of the drawings, identical or corresponding components are designated by the same reference numerals, and overlapping description is omitted. 
       FIG. 1A  shows a representative cross-sectional structure of a multi-mode optical fiber according to the present invention, and  FIG. 1B  shows a refractive index profile thereof. In particular, the multi-mode optical fiber  100  ( FIG. 1A ) according to the present embodiment is a GI type multi-mode optical fiber mainly composed of silica glass, and comprises at least a core  110  extending along a predetermined axis (corresponding to the optical axis AX), and a cladding  120  provided on the outer periphery of the core  110 . In the multi-mode optical fiber  100  shown in  FIG. 1A , the core  110  is doped with GeO 2  for adjusting the shape of the refractive index profile, and has diameter  2   a  and a maximum refractive index of n 2 . The cladding  120  has diameter  2   b  and a refractive index n 1  lower than that of the core  110 . Apart from the GeO 2  described above, each of the core  110  and cladding  120  is doped with concentration-adjusted chlorine so as to form a desired concentration profile shape. 
     Further, the multi-mode optical fiber  100  according to the present embodiment has the refractive index profile  150  shown in  FIG. 1B . The refractive index profile  150  shown in  FIG. 1B  indicates the refractive index at each portion on the line L orthogonal to the optical axis AX in  FIG. 1A  (corresponding to a diametric direction of the multi-mode optical fiber  100 ), and more specifically, shows the refractive index of different portions of the core  110  along the line L in the region  151 , and the refractive index of different portions of the cladding  120  along the line L in the region  152 . 
     In particular, the region  151  in the refractive index profile  150  of  FIG. 1B  has a dome shape such that the refractive index is maximum in the center of the core  110  coinciding with the optical axis AX. Hence, the concentration of GeO 2 , which is added to adjust the refractive index, also falls rapidly in moving from the center of the core  110  toward the cladding  120 . The a value for regulating the dome shape is from 1.9 to 2.2. The relative refractive index difference Δ (maximum relative refractive index difference of the core  110  with respect to the cladding  120 ) of the center of the core  110  relative to the cladding  120  (a single layer in the example of  FIG. 1A , serving as a reference region defining the relative refractive index difference) is from 0.8 to 1.2%, and the diameter  2   a  of the core  110  is from 47.5 to 52.5 μm. 
     The concentration profile of chlorine added to both the core  110  and the cladding  120  have the shape shown in  FIG. 2 . That is, as indicated by the chlorine concentration profile  250  shown in  FIG. 2 , the average Cl-concentration within the cladding  120  is higher than the average Cl-concentration profile within the core  110 , and the Cl-concentrations in both the core  110  and the cladding  120  are intentionally controlled. In  FIG. 2 , the horizontal axis corresponding to the different portions on the line L of the core  110  with diameter  2   a  and the cladding  120  with diameter  2   b , and represents a coordinate with origin at the point of intersection with the optical axis. 
     As can be seen from  FIG. 2 , the chlorine concentration profile  250  in one example is distributed along the diametric direction (a direction orthogonal to the optical axis AX) of the multi-mode optical fiber  100 ; the shape is such that Cl-concentration (units: ppm) is substantially constant over the range from the optical axis AX to the distance a, that is, within the core  110  and the average Cl-concentration is P C2 . On the other hand, over the range of distance a to distance b from the optical axis AX, in other words, in the cladding  120  provided in the outer periphery of the core having a diameter  2   a , the Cl-concentration (units: ppm) is substantially constant, and its average Cl-concentration is P C1 ·(&gt;P C2 ). As described above, the average Cl-concentration within the cladding  120  is higher than the average Cl-concentration within the core  110 , so that the glass viscosity difference between the core  110  and the cladding  120  can be reduced. As a result, residual stresses within the multi-mode optical fiber obtained after the preform drawing are reduced, and the change in refractive index before and after glass solidification can be made small. 
       FIG. 3  shows another example of a chlorine concentration profile applied to the multi-mode optical fiber  100 . That is, the chlorine concentration profile within the cladding  120  may have a shape which rises from the inner peripheral surface of the cladding  120  closest to the core  110  toward the outer peripheral surface of the cladding  120  opposing the inner peripheral surface, along the radial direction of the multi-mode optical fiber  100 . That is, the Cl-concentration within the cladding  120  may rise monotonically from the inner peripheral surface of the cladding  120  (that is, the surface separated by distance a from the optical axis AX along the radial direction of the multi-mode optical fiber  100 ) toward the outer peripheral surface of the cladding  120  (the surface separated by distance b from the optical axis AX along the radial direction of the multi-mode optical fiber  100 ). In this case also, the average Cl-concentration within the cladding  120  is P C1 . The Cl-concentration within the core  110  may fluctuate along the radial direction of the multi-mode optical fiber  100  from the optical axis AX. However, even if there is such a concentration fluctuation, the average Cl-concentration within the core  110  is P C2 (&lt;P C1 ). 
     For example, the concentration profile  251  shown in  FIG. 3  has a shape with a constant rate of increase of the chlorine concentration (Cl-concentration) from the inner peripheral surface of the cladding  120  (the position at distance a from the optical axis AX) to the outer peripheral surface (the position at distance b from the optical axis AX). The concentration profiles  252  and  253  have shapes in which the rate of increase of the chlorine concentration (Cl-concentration) from the inner peripheral surface to the outer peripheral surface of the cladding  120  fluctuates. As the chlorine concentration profile in the cladding  120 , any of the concentration profiles  251  to  253  may be adopted. 
     Next, as an example of a method of manufacture of a multi-mode optical fiber  100  according to the present embodiment, manufacture of preform for the multi-mode optical fiber according to the first embodiment, having the chlorine concentration profile shown in  FIG. 2 , is explained. 
     In order to obtain the multi-mode optical fiber  100 , first an optical fiber preform  600  (see  FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 8 ) is manufactured. The optical fiber preform  600  is obtained by first using a VAD (Vapor phase Axial Deposition) method to manufacture a core preform with GeO 2  (germanium dioxide) added, and after dehydration and sintering, stretching and other processes, then using the same VAD method to manufacture a peripheral portion on the outer periphery of the core preform obtained. The former core preform manufactured by the VAD method is the portion to become the core  110 , having a refractive index profile with the a value after drawing of 1.9 to 2.2. The latter peripheral portion manufactured by the VAD method is the portion to become the cladding  120  after drawing. 
     Specifically, in the process to manufacture the core by the VAD method, a porous glass body  510  is formed by the soot deposition apparatus shown in  FIG. 4 . This soot deposition apparatus comprises at least a container  315  provided with a discharge port  315   a , and a support mechanism  310  to support the porous glass body  510 . That is, the support mechanism  310  is provided with a support rod which can rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow S 1 , and on the tip of this support rod is mounted a starting rod to induce growth of the porous glass body  510  (soot body). 
     The soot deposition apparatus of  FIG. 4  is provided with a burner  320  to cause deposition of the porous glass body  510  (soot body); a desired starting material gas (for example GeCl 4 , SiCl 4  or similar), combustion gases (H 2  and O 2 ), and carrier gas such as Ar, He or similar, are supplied to the burner  320  from a gas supply system  330 . 
     During manufacture of the porous glass body  510 , fine glass particles are generated in the flame of the burner  320  by a hydrolysis reaction of the starting material gas supplied from the gas supply system  330 , and these fine glass particles are deposited on the lower surface of the starting rod. During this time, the support mechanism  310  first moves the starting rod mounted on the tip in the direction indicated by the arrow S 2   a , and then performs an upward-raising motion of the starting rod along the direction indicated by the arrow S 2   b  (the longitudinal direction of the porous glass body  510 ) while rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow S 1 . By means of this operation, the porous glass body  510  grows in the downward direction of the starting rod on the lower surface of the starting rod, and at last a porous preform (soot preform) which is to become the core  110  is obtained. 
     Next, the dehydration process (chlorine addition process) shown in  FIG. 5A  is performed for the porous preform  510  manufactured by the VAD method described above. That is, the porous preform  510  is mounted within the heating container  350  provided with a heater  360  shown in  FIG. 5A , and dehydration treatment in an atmosphere containing chlorine is performed. This heating container  350  is provided with an introducing port  350   a  and a discharge port  350   b  for the supply of a gas containing chlorine. During this dehydration process, the support mechanism  340  changes the position of the porous preform  510  relative to the heater  360  by moving the entire porous preform  510  in the directions indicated by the arrows S 3   a  and S 3   b , while rotating about the central axis of the porous preform  510  in the direction of the arrow S 4 . Through this process, porous preform  520  to which has been added a predetermined amount of chlorine is obtained. 
     The porous preform  520  obtained after the above-described dehydration process is next sintered within the heating container  350  described above (rarefaction). That is, as shown in  FIG. 5B , the porous preform  520  is accommodated within the container  350  in a state of being supported by the support mechanism  340 . At this time, the temperature within the container  350  (heater temperature) is set to approximately 1500° C., and He gas is being supplied into the container  350  via the introducing port  350   a , without introducing chlorine gas. 
     During the sintering process, the support mechanism  340  moves the entirety of the porous preform  520  in the direction indicated by the arrow S 3   a  while rotating the porous preform  520  about the central axis of the porous preform  520  in the direction indicated by the arrow S 4 , and by this means changes the position of the porous preform  520  relative to the heater  360 . Through this process, a transparent glass body  530  of diameter D 1  is obtained. 
     By stretching the transparent glass body  530  manufactured as described above in the longitudinal direction thereof until the diameter is D 2  (in this example, 20 mm), the core preform  540  shown in  FIG. 6A  is obtained. 
     The average Cl-concentration within the core preform  540  obtained was 280 ppm. The above-described porous preform manufacturing process, dehydration process, and sintering process can also be performed within the same container. 
     By using the VAD method to further form a glass region on the surface of the core preform  540  obtained by the above-described processes, a preform for a multi-mode optical fiber is finally manufactured. 
     Particularly, in the process of manufacturing the cladding by the VAD method, the porous glass body  550  is formed on the surface of the core preform  540  by the soot deposition apparatus shown in  FIG. 6B  (with structure similar to the soot deposition apparatus shown in  FIG. 4 ). This soot deposition apparatus comprises at least a container  450  provided with a discharge port  450   b , and a support mechanism  440  to support the core preform  540 . That is, a support rod which can rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow S 6  is provided on the support mechanism  440 , and on the tip of this support rod is mounted the core preform  540  used to induce the growth, on the surface thereof, of the porous glass body  550  (soot body). 
     The soot deposition apparatus of  FIG. 6B  is provided with a burner  460  to cause deposition of a porous glass body  550  (soot body) on the surface of the core preform  540 , and the desired starting material gas (for example SiCl 4  or similar), combustion gases (H 2  and O 2 ), and carrier gas such as Ar or He are supplied to the burner  460  from a gas supply system  490 . 
     During manufacture of the porous glass body  550 , fine glass particles are generated in the flame of the burner  460  by a hydrolysis reaction of the starting material gas supplied from the gas supply system  490 , and these fine glass particles are deposited on the surface of the core preform  540 . During this time, the support mechanism  440  first moves the core preform  540  mounted on the tip in the direction indicated by the arrow S 5   a , and then performs an upward-raising motion of the core preform  540  along the direction indicated by the arrow S 5   b  (a longitudinal direction of the core preform  540 ) while rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow S 6 . By means of this operation, the porous glass body  550  grows in the downward direction of the core preform  540  on the lower surface of the core preform  540 , and at last a porous preform (soot perform) which is to become the cladding  120  is obtained on the surface of the core preform  540 . 
     The porous preform obtained through the above-described processes is again subjected to a dehydration process ( FIG. 5A ) and a sintering process ( FIG. 5B ), to obtain a preform for a multi-mode optical fiber  600 . In the process of sintering the porous preform, performed after the dehydration process, in order to effectively add chlorine to the peripheral region (soot body after dehydration) of the core preform  540 , a gas mixture of chlorine gas (Cl 2 ) and He gas is supplied to the interior of the container  350 , and the sintering process (glass rarefaction) is performed in the atmosphere of this gas mixture of chlorine gas and He gas. The optical fiber preform  600  obtained through the above-described processes comprises an inside region  610  which after drawing becomes the core  110 , and a peripheral region  620  which becomes the cladding  120 , as shown in  FIG. 7A . The average Cl-concentration in the peripheral region  620  was 800 ppm. 
     The optical fiber preform  600  comprises a region which after drawing becomes the core  110 , and a peripheral region which becomes the cladding  120 , as shown in  FIG. 8 . In the drawing process shown in  FIG. 8 , one end of the optical fiber preform  600  is heated by a heater  630  while drawing in the direction indicated by the arrow S 7 , to obtain a multi-mode optical fiber  100  having the cross-sectional structure shown in  FIG. 1A . 
     In addition to the multi-mode optical fiber according to the above-described first embodiment, in order to further confirm the optical characteristics of various other multi-mode optical fibers (of a second embodiment and a comparative example), the inventors manufactured optical fiber preforms  600  having difference chlorine concentration profiles ( FIG. 7B  to  FIG. 7D ). 
       FIG. 7A  shows a structure of the optical fiber preform  600  obtained,  FIG. 7B  shows a chlorine concentration profile  260  along a diametric direction of the preform for the multi-mode optical fiber according to the first embodiment,  FIG. 7C  shows a chlorine concentration profile  261  along a diametric direction of the preform for the multi-mode optical fiber according to the second embodiment, and  FIG. 7D  shows a chlorine concentration profile  262  along a diametric direction of the preform for the multi-mode optical fiber according to a comparative example prepared for comparison with the optical characteristics of the first and second embodiments. 
     In the chlorine concentration profile  260  along the diametric direction of the preform for the multi-mode optical fiber according to the first embodiment ( FIG. 7B ), Cl-concentration in the inside region  610  which is to become the core  110  is substantially constant along the radial direction of the preform, and Cl-concentration in the peripheral region  620  which is to become the cladding  120  is also substantially constant along the radial direction of the preform. In this chlorine concentration profile  260 , the average Cl-concentration P C2 , in the inside region  610  was 280 ppm, and the average Cl-concentration P C1  in the peripheral region  620  was 800 ppm. 
     The multi-mode optical fiber according to the first embodiment, which was finally obtained by drawing the optical fiber preform having the chlorine concentration profile  260  shown in  FIG. 7B , had a minimum effective bandwidth of 2200 MHz·km and an OFL bandwidth at 850 nm of 1650 MHz·km, and was confirmed to be applicable as an OM3 multi-mode optical fiber. 
     In the chlorine concentration profile  261  ( FIG. 7C ) along the diametric direction of the preform for the multi-mode optical fiber according to the second embodiment, the Cl-concentration in the inside region  610  is substantially constant along the radial direction of the preform, but in the peripheral region  620  the Cl-concentration increases along the radial direction of the preform. However, in the chlorine concentration profile  261  also, the average Cl-concentration P C2  in the inside region  610  was 280 ppm, and the average Cl-concentration P C1  in the peripheral region  620  was 800 ppm. 
     The multi-mode optical fiber according to the second embodiment, which was finally obtained by drawing the optical fiber preform having the chlorine concentration profile  261  shown in  FIG. 7C , was a broadband multi-mode optical fiber having a minimum effective bandwidth of 3100 MHz·km and an OFL bandwidth at 850 nm of 2950 MHz·km, and was confirmed to be applicable as an OM3 multi-mode optical fiber. 
     On the other hand, in the chlorine concentration profile  262  ( FIG. 7D ) along the diametric direction of the preform for the multi-mode optical fiber according to the comparative example, the Cl-concentration in the inside region  610  is substantially constant in the radial direction of the preform, but there is almost no chlorine added in the peripheral region  620  (chlorine gas was not introduced during sintering of the porous preform  550 ). Hence, in the chlorine concentration profile  262 , the average Cl-concentration P C4  of the inside region  610  was approximately equal to or less than P C2 , and the average Cl-concentration P C3  in the peripheral region  620  was 10 ppm (&lt;P C4 ). 
     The multi-mode optical fiber according to the comparative example, which was finally obtained by drawing the optical fiber preform having the chlorine concentration profile  262  shown in  FIG. 7D , had a minimum effective bandwidth of 1520 MHz·km and an OFL bandwidth at 850 nm of 1250 MHz·km, and consequently an OM3 multi-mode optical fiber was not obtained. 
     As described above, in accordance with the present invention, the difference in refractive index profile between the states before and after the preform drawing can be inhibited. Therefore, the present invention is particularly applicable to broadband multi-mode optical fibers. More specifically, the present invention can be applied to broadband multi-mode optical fibers called OM3 and OM4 that are stipulated by the International Standard ISO/IEC 11801. 
     From the invention thus described, it will be obvious that the embodiments of the invention may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended for inclusion within the scope of the following claims.