Patent Publication Number: US-10775718-B2

Title: Power transmission mechanism and image forming apparatus

Description:
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE 
     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the corresponding Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-006531 filed on Jan. 18, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates to a power transmission mechanism and an image forming apparatus. 
     There is known a power transmission mechanism in which a tooth is provided on an outer circumference of a flexible portion formed on a tooth-chipped gear so as to restrict the gears from being stopped or broken due to collision between tips of the gear teeth. 
     SUMMARY 
     A power transmission mechanism according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a driving gear and a driven gear. The driving gear includes a teeth portion and a tooth-chipped portion, wherein in the teeth portion, a plurality of teeth are formed along a circumferential direction of the driving gear, and in the tooth chipped portion, no tooth is formed. The driven gear is intermittently driven transitioning between a meshing state and a non-meshing state as the driving gear rotates, wherein in the meshing state, the driven gear and the driving gear mesh with each other, and in the non-meshing state, the driving gear and the driven gear do not mesh with each other. An interval between a first tooth and a second tooth of the driven gear is wider than an interval between teeth of the driven gear that are, starting with the second tooth, on an upstream side of the first tooth in a rotation direction of the driven gear, wherein the first tooth is a tooth of the driven gear that, when the non-meshing state transitions to the meshing state, abuts on a tooth of the driving gear that is, in the teeth portion, on a most downstream side in a rotation direction of the driving gear, and the second tooth is the 2 nd  tooth counted from the first tooth toward the upstream side in the rotation direction. 
     An image forming apparatus according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes a developing device, a toner supply portion, a motor, and the power transmission mechanism. The toner supply portion supplies toner to the developing device. The power transmission mechanism transmits a power of the motor to the toner supply portion. 
     This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description with reference where appropriate to the accompanying drawings. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional diagram showing a configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective diagram showing a configuration of a power transmission mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective diagram showing a configuration of a driving gear of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B  are perspective diagrams showing a configuration of a driven gear of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 6A  and  FIG. 6B  are cross-sectional diagrams of the driving gear and the driven gear of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B  are cross-sectional diagrams of the driving gear and the driven gear of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 8A  and  FIG. 8B  are diagrams showing movement of the driving gear and the driven gear in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 9A  and  FIG. 9B  are diagrams showing movement of the driving gear and the driven gear in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 10A  and  FIG. 10B  are diagrams showing movement of the driving gear and the driven gear in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 11A  and  FIG. 11B  are diagrams showing a force that acts on the driven gear in each of image forming apparatuses of a comparative example and the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following describes an embodiment of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiment is an example of a specific embodiment of the present disclosure and should not limit the technical scope of the present disclosure. It is noted that, for the sake of explanation, a vertical direction in a state where an image forming apparatus  10  is usably installed (the state shown in  FIG. 1 ), is defined as an up-down direction D 1 . In addition, a front-rear direction D 2  and a left-right direction D 3  are defined in the state where the image forming apparatus  10  is usably installed. 
     The image forming apparatus  10  according to the present embodiment has at least a print function. The image forming apparatus  10  is, for example, a tandem-type color printer. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the image forming apparatus  10  includes a housing  11 . Some of the components constituting the image forming apparatus  10  are stored in the housing  11 . It is noted that  FIG. 1  shows a state where a right side cover of the storage portion  11  is removed. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the image forming apparatus  10  includes a plurality of image forming units  15  ( 15 Y,  15 C,  15 M, and  15 K), an intermediate transfer unit  16 , a laser scanning unit  17 , a primary transfer roller  18 , a secondary transfer roller  19 , a fixing device  20 , a sheet tray  21 , a sheet feed cassette  22 , a conveyance path  24 , and a control board  26  configured to control the components of the image forming apparatus  10 . In addition, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the image forming apparatus  10  includes a plurality of toner containers  3  ( 3 Y,  3 C,  3 M, and  3 K) attached to the inside of the housing  11  in a detachable manner. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the image forming units  15  are arranged in alignment along the front-rear direction D 2  in the housing  11 , and form a color image based on what is called a tandem system. Specifically, the image forming unit  15 Y is configured to form a toner image of yellow, and the image forming units  15 C,  15 M and  15 K form toner images of cyan, magenta and black, respectively. 
     The image forming units  15  form toner images by an electrophotographic method. Each of the image forming units  15  includes a photoconductor drum  41 , a drum cleaning device  42 , a charging device  32 , and a developing device  33 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , each of the toner containers  3  includes an upper storage portion  71  and a lower storage portion  72 . The upper storage portion  71  includes, inside thereof, a storage space storing unused toner for supply. The lower storage portion  72  includes, inside thereof, a storage space for storing waste toner discharged from the drum cleaning device  42 . In the state where the toner containers  3  are attached to the housing  11 , the unused toner is supplied to the inside of the developing devices  33  from the upper storage portions  71  of the toner containers  3 . In addition, the waste toner discharged from the drum cleaning devices  42  passes through discharge guide portions (not shown), and is guided to and stored in the lower storage portions  72  of the toner containers  3 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the intermediate transfer unit  16  is provided above the four image forming units  15 . More specifically, the intermediate transfer unit  16  is provided above the photoconductor drums  41 . The intermediate transfer unit  16  includes a transfer belt  35  of an annular shape, a driving roller  36 , a driven roller  37 , and a belt cleaning device  38 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the image forming apparatus  10  includes, in correspondence with the toner containers  3 , toner supply portions  61  that are configured to supply the toner stored in the upper storage portions  71  of the toner containers  3  to the developing device  33 . In addition, the image forming apparatus  10  includes a power transmission mechanism  5  configured to transmit a power from a motor  62  to the toner supply portions  61 . 
     Each of the toner supply portions  61  includes a screw-type conveyance member that is rotationally driven by a power transmitted by the power transmission mechanism  5 . As the screw-type conveyance member rotates, toner is conveyed from the upper storage portion  71  of the toner container  3  to the developing device  33 . 
     The power transmission mechanism  5  includes a plurality of gears for transmitting the power of the motor  62  to the toner supply portion  61 . Specifically, the power transmission mechanism  5  includes a driving gear  51  and a driven gear  52  for each of the toner supply portions  61 . In addition, the power transmission mechanism  5  includes actuators  53  in correspondence with the driving gears  51 , wherein each of the actuators  53  controls the rotation of a corresponding driving gear  51  in units of circumferences. Each of the actuators  53  includes an engaging portion  531  (see  FIG. 4 ) that swings in an approaching/separating direction D 4  shown in  FIG. 4 , in response to an input control signal. 
     [Configuration of Driving Gear] 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , each of the driving gears  51  is supported in such a way as to rotate around a rotation shaft R 1 , and includes an input gear portion  51 A and an output gear portion  51 B. The driving gear  51  receives a power from another gear (not shown, hereinafter referred to as an input-side gear) via the input gear portion  51 A, and transmits the power to the driven gear  52  via the output gear portion  51 B. 
     The input gear portion  51 A includes a stepped portion  54  and a tooth-chipped portion  55  that constitute a clutch mechanism for controlling the rotation of the driving gear  51  in units of circumferences. In response to the rotation of the input-side gear, the driving gear  51  rotates in a rotation direction D 5  shown in  FIG. 4 . When the tooth-chipped portion  55  reaches a position that faces the input-side gear, a non-meshing state occurs where the input-side gear and the driving gear  51  do not mesh with each other. At this time, although the driving gear  51  is biased in the rotation direction D 5  by a biasing member (not shown), the engaging portion  531  of the actuator  53  abuts on the stepped portion  54 , and the rotation of the driving gear  51  is restricted. Subsequently, when a control signal is input, the engaging portion  531  of the actuator  53  separates from the stepped portion  54 . Then the driving gear  51  is rotated in the rotation direction D 5  by the biasing force of the biasing member, and a meshing state occurs where the input-side gear and the driving gear  51  mesh with each other. Thereafter, the driving gear  51  rotates in the rotation direction D 5  until the engaging portion  531  of the actuator  53  abuts on the stepped portion  54  again. In this way, the rotation of the driving gear  51  is controlled in units of circumferences by the control signal. 
     The output gear portion  51 B includes a teeth portion  81  and a tooth-chipped portion  82 , wherein in the teeth portion  81 , a plurality of teeth  8  are formed along a circumferential direction of the driving gear  51 , and in the tooth chipped portion  82 , the teeth  8  are not formed. It is noted that among the plurality of teeth  8  formed in the teeth portion  81 , a tooth  8  located on the most downstream side in the rotation direction D 5  may be referred to as a “tooth  8 A”, and the 2 nd  tooth  8  counted from the tooth  8 A toward the downstream side in the rotation direction D 5  may be referred to as a “tooth  8 B”. In addition, among the plurality of teeth  8  formed in the teeth portion  81 , a tooth  8  located on the most upstream side in the rotation direction D 5  may be referred to as a “tooth  8 Z”. It is noted that some of the plurality of teeth  8  formed in the teeth portion  81  (specifically, at least the teeth  8 A,  8 B, and  8 Z) are shorter in width in the axial direction along the rotation shaft R 1 , than the other teeth  8 . This is to avoid an interference with facing ribs  91  formed on the driven gear  52 , the facing ribs  91  being described below. 
     The driving gear  51  includes an annular rib  83  formed along the tooth-chipped portion  82 . The annular rib  83  includes an outer circumferential surface  831  having a shape of a circular arc centering on the rotation shaft R 1  of the driving gear  51 . The annular rib  83  has a function to fix the position of the facing ribs  91  (see  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B ) in a non-meshing state where the driving gear  51  and the driven gear  52  do not mesh with each other, the facing ribs  91  being provided in the driven gear  52  and described below. 
     [Configuration of Driven Gear] 
     As shown in  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B , each of the driven gears  52  is supported in such a way as to rotate around a rotation shaft R 2 . The driven gear  52  is intermittently driven transitioning between a meshing state and the non-meshing state as the driving gear  51  rotates, wherein in the meshing state, the driven gear  52  and the driving gear  51  mesh with each other, and in the non-meshing state, the driving gear  51  and the driven gear  52  do not mesh with each other. In the meshing state, the driven gear  52  rotates in a rotation direction D 6  shown in  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B  with the rotation of the driving gear  51 . This allows the power of the motor  62  (see  FIG. 3 ) to be transmitted from the driving gear  51  to the driven gear  52 , and transmitted finally to the toner supply portion  61 . On the other hand, in the non-meshing state, the driven gear  52  does not rotate while the driving gear  51  rotates, and the power of the motor  62  (see  FIG. 3 ) is not transmitted from the driving gear  51  to the driven gear  52 . 
     On the driven gear  52 , a plurality of teeth  9  are formed along a circumferential direction of the driven gear  52 . In addition, on the driven gear  52 , two facing ribs  91  (specifically, a facing rib  91 A and a facing rib  91 B) are formed at equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the driven gear  52 . It is noted that hereinafter, one of the two facing ribs  91  may be referred to as the “facing rib  91 A” and the other may be referred to as the “facing rib  91 B”. 
       FIG. 6A  shows the driving gear  51  and the driven gear  52  in the non-meshing state viewed in a direction perpendicular to the rotation shaft R 1  and the rotation shaft R 2 .  FIG. 6B  is a cross-sectional diagram of the driving gear  51  and the driven gear  52  taken along a V 1 -V 1  line and viewed from the direction of arrows of  FIG. 6A .  FIG. 7A  shows the driving gear  51  and the driven gear  52  in the non-meshing state viewed in a direction extending along the rotation shaft R 1  and the rotation shaft R 2 .  FIG. 7B  is a cross-sectional diagram of the driving gear  51  and the driven gear  52  taken along a V 2 -V 2  line and viewed from the direction of arrows of  FIG. 7A . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6B , each of the facing ribs  91  includes an outer circumferential surface  911  that has a shape along the outer circumferential surface  831  of the annular rib  83  in the non-meshing state. In addition, as shown in  FIG. 7B , in the non-meshing state, a facing rib  91  and the annular rib  83  partially abut on each other, or face each other with a slight gap therebetween. In the non-meshing state, the annular rib  83  fixes the position of facing ribs  91 . This restricts the rotation of the driven gear  52 . That is, the annular rib  83  and the facing ribs  91  function as a rotation restricting mechanism that restricts the rotation of the driven gear  52  in the non-meshing state. It is noted that another mechanism may be adopted as the rotation restricting mechanism. 
     In the meshing state (namely, in a state where the teeth portion  81  of the driving gear  51  faces the driven gear  52 ), the driven gear  52  rotates in response to the rotation of the driving gear  51 . On the other hand, in the non-meshing state (namely, in a state where the tooth-chipped portion  82  of the driving gear  51  faces the driven gear  52 ), the driving gear  51  rotates, but the driven gear  52  comes to a stationary state. In this way, the driven gear  52  is intermittently driven transitioning between the meshing state and the non-meshing state as the driving gear  51  rotates. 
     Meanwhile, as a technology related to the power transmission mechanism  5  of the present embodiment, there is known a power transmission mechanism in which a tooth is provided on an outer circumference of a flexible portion formed in a tooth-chipped gear so as to restrict the gears from being stopped or broken due to collision between tips of the gear teeth. However, the power transmission mechanism of the related technology is not configured to prevent an occurrence of collision between tips of the gear teeth, and thus a collision noise occurs when tips of gear teeth collide with each other. In addition, when tips of gear teeth collide with each other, a large force acts in a direction from a contact point of the tips toward the rotation shaft of the gear. This causes the gear to collide with a bearing that supports the gear, allowing a collision noise to occur. On the other hand, according to the power transmission mechanism  5  of the present embodiment, it is possible to restrict the gears from generating a noise. 
     In the power transmission mechanism  5  of the present embodiment, an interval between a tooth  9 A and a tooth  9 B is wider than an interval between teeth  9  that are, starting with the tooth  9 B, on the upstream side of the tooth  9 A in the rotation direction D 6 , wherein the tooth  9 A is a tooth  9  of the driven gear  52  that abuts on the tooth  8 A of the driving gear  51  when the non-meshing state transitions to the meshing state (namely, at the timing shown in  FIG. 8B ), and the tooth  9 B is the 2 nd  tooth  9  counted from the tooth  9 A toward the upstream side in the rotation direction D 6 . The tooth  9 A is an example of a “first tooth” of the present disclosure, and the tooth  9 B is an example of a “second tooth” of the present disclosure. 
     It is noted that among the plurality of teeth  9  formed on the driven gear  52 , the 2 nd  tooth  9  counted from the tooth  9 A toward the downstream side in the rotation direction D 6  may be referred to as a “tooth  9 Z”, and the 3 rd  tooth  9  counted from the tooth  9 A toward the downstream side in the rotation direction D 6  may be referred to as a “tooth  9 Y”. As shown in  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B , the outer circumferential surface  911  of the facing rib  91  is formed to extend from the tip of the tooth  9 B to the tip of the tooth  9 Y. This enhances the strength of the facing ribs  91 , or the strength of the tooth  9 B and the tooth  9 Y. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7A , the teeth  9 A of the driven gear  52  are formed at positions that, in the non-meshing state, intersect a plane that includes the rotation shaft R 1  of the driving gear  51  and the rotation shaft R 2  of the driven gear  52 . In addition, in the non-meshing state, the teeth  9 B of the driven gear  52  are located outside the tooth tip circle of the driving gear  51 . As a result, when the non-meshing state transitions to the meshing state, the tooth  8 A of the driving gear  51  abuts on the tooth  9 A of the driven gear  52 , without abutting on the tooth  9 B of the driven gear  52 . 
     The following describes how the driven gear  52  moves during a single rotation of the driving gear  51  with reference to  FIG. 8A  to  FIG. 10B . 
       FIG. 8A  shows a state before the driving gear  51  starts to rotate. That is,  FIG. 8A  shows a state where the rotation of the driving gear  51  is restricted by the clutch mechanism. That is, in this state, the engaging portion  531  of the actuators  53  abuts on the stepped portion  54 , thereby restricting the rotation of the driving gear  51 . At this time, the facing rib  91 A of the driven gear  52  is located to face the annular rib  83  of the driving gear  51 , thereby restricting the rotation of the driven gear  52 , as well. Subsequently, when the engaging portion  531  of the actuators  53  is separated from the stepped portion  54  in response to an input control signal, the driving gear  51  starts to rotate in the rotation direction D 5  by the biasing force of the biasing member. At this time, however, since the driven gear  52  is still in the non-meshing state, the driven gear  52  remains to be in the stationary state if the driving gear  51  starts to rotate. 
       FIG. 8B  shows a state immediately after the tooth  8 A of the driving gear  51  abuts on the tooth  9 A of the driven gear  52 . That is,  FIG. 8B  shows a state immediately after the non-meshing state transitions to the meshing state. The tooth  8 A of the driving gear  51  presses the tooth  9 A of the driven gear  52 , and thereby causes the driven gear  52  to rotate in the rotation direction D 6 . Subsequently, as shown in  FIG. 9A , the teeth  8  of the driving gear  51  mesh with the teeth of the driven gear  52 , and the driven gear  52  rotates in response to the rotation of the driving gear  51 . 
       FIG. 9B  shows a state where the tooth  8 Z of the driving gear  51  abuts on the tooth  9 Y of the driven gear  52 .  FIG. 10A  shows a state immediately before the tooth  8 Z of the driving gear  51  is separated from the tooth  9 Y of the driven gear  52 . That is,  FIG. 10A  shows a state immediately before the meshing state transitions to the non-meshing state. After the tooth  8 Z of the driving gear  51  is separated from the tooth  9 Y of the driven gear  52 , the facing rib  91 A of the driven gear  52  is located to face the annular rib  83  of the driving gear  51 , thereby restricting the rotation of the driven gear  52 . That is, the driven gear  52  remains to be in the stationary state if the driving gear  51  starts to rotate. 
       FIG. 10B  shows a state after the driving gear  51  ends rotating. That is,  FIG. 10B  shows a state where the rotation of the driving gear  51  is restricted by the clutch mechanism. That is, in this state, the engaging portion  531  of the actuators  53  abuts on the stepped portion  54 , thereby restricting the rotation of the driving gear  51 . At this time, the facing rib  91 B of the driven gear  52  is located to face the annular rib  83  of the driving gear  51 , thereby restricting the rotation of the driven gear  52 , as well. 
     After the state shown in  FIG. 10B , when the engaging portion  531  of the actuators  53  is separated from the stepped portion  54  in response to an input control signal, the driving gear  51  starts to rotate in the rotation direction D 5  by the biasing force of the biasing member. At this time, however, since the driven gear  52  is still in the non-meshing state, the driven gear  52  remains to be in the stationary state if the driving gear  51  starts to rotate. 
     Here, a comparison between  FIG. 10B  and  FIG. 8A  indicates that when the driving gear  51  rotates once, the driven gear  52  rotates half. That is, according to the present embodiment, since two facing ribs  91  are provided on the driven gear  52 , when the driving gear  51  rotates once, the driven gear  52  rotates half. It is noted that as another embodiment, one facing rib  91  or three or more facing ribs  91  may be provided on the driven gear  52 . In general, in a case where N (N is a natural number) facing ribs  91  are provided on the driven gear  52 , when the driving gear  51  rotates once, the driven gear  52  rotates one-Nth. In this way, it is possible to change the ratio of the rotation speed of the driven gear  52  to the rotation speed of the driving gear  51  by changing the number of facing ribs  91  provided on the driven gear  52 . 
     As described above, according to the power transmission mechanism  5  of the present embodiment, in the non-meshing state, the rotation of the driven gear  52  is restricted by the rotation restricting mechanism. In addition, when the non-meshing state transitions to the meshing state, the tooth  8 A of the driving gear  51  abuts on the tooth  9 A of the driven gear  52 , without abutting on the tooth  9 B of the driven gear  52 . As a result, according to the power transmission mechanism  5  of the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent a tip of a tooth  8  of the driving gear  51  from abutting on a tip of a tooth  9  of the driven gear  52 . 
     In addition, in the power transmission mechanism  5  of the present embodiment, an interval between a tooth  9 A and a tooth  9 B of the driven gear  52  is wider than an interval between teeth  9  that are, starting with the tooth  9 B, on the upstream side of the tooth  9 A in the rotation direction D 6 , wherein the tooth  9 B is the 2 nd  tooth  9  counted from the tooth  9 A toward the upstream side in the rotation direction D 6 . As a result, according to the power transmission mechanism  5  of the present embodiment, it is possible to restrict a noise from occurring when the non-meshing state transitions to the meshing state. The following describes the reason with reference to  FIG. 11A  and  FIG. 11B . 
       FIG. 11A  shows a configuration of a comparative example in which a tooth  9   a  is formed between the tooth  9 A and the tooth  9 B of the driven gear  52 . In this case, when the non-meshing state transitions to the meshing state, the tooth  8 A of the driving gear  51  abuts on the tooth  9   a  of the driven gear  52 . When the tooth  8 A of the driving gear  51  abuts on the tooth  9   a  of the driven gear  52 , a force F 0  acts on the driven gear  52 . As a result, a component force F 1  of the force F 0  acts on the bearing of the driven gear  52 . 
     On the other hand, in the power transmission mechanism  5  of the present embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 11B , since the interval between the tooth  9 A and the tooth  9 B of the driven gear  52  is wide, when the non-meshing state transitions to the meshing state, the tooth  8 A of the driving gear  51  first abuts on the tooth  9 A of the driven gear  52 . When the tooth  8 A of the driving gear  51  abuts on the tooth  9 A of the driven gear  52 , a force F 0  acts on the driven gear  52 . As a result, a component force F 1  of the force F 0  acts on the bearing of the driven gear  52 . 
     In the power transmission mechanism  5  of the present embodiment, when the non-meshing state transitions to the meshing state, the tooth  8 A of the driving gear  51  first abuts on the driven gear  52  at a position that is closer to the plane including the rotation shaft R 1  and the rotation shaft R 2  than in the comparative example. Accordingly, the component force F 1  shown in  FIG. 11B  is smaller in size than the component force F 1  shown in  FIG. 11A . As a result, according to the power transmission mechanism  5  of the present embodiment, it is possible to restrict the bearing of the driven gear  52  from generating a noise when the non-meshing state transitions to the meshing state. This also applies to the noise generated by the bearing of the driving gear  51 . 
     As another embodiment, one or more teeth  8  (for example, tooth  8 B) among the plurality of teeth  8  formed on the driving gear  51  may be omitted. Similarly, one or more teeth  9  (for example, tooth  9 Z) among the plurality of teeth  9  formed on the driven gear  52  may be omitted. 
     It is to be understood that the embodiments herein are illustrative and not restrictive, since the scope of the disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than by the description preceding them, and all changes that fall within metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalence of such metes and bounds thereof are therefore intended to be embraced by the claims.