Patent Publication Number: US-10759202-B2

Title: Ribbon rewinding mechanism for providing stable ribbon tension in a printer

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of priority to Taiwan Patent Application No. 107201399, filed on Jan. 29, 2018. The entire content of the above identified application is incorporated herein by reference. 
     Some references, which may include patents, patent applications and various publications, may be cited and discussed in the description of this disclosure. The citation and/or discussion of such references is provided merely to clarify the description of the present disclosure and is not an admission that any such reference is “prior art” to the present disclosure described herein. All references cited and discussed in this specification are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties and to the same extent as if each reference was individually incorporated by reference. 
     FIELD OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE 
     The present disclosure relates to a ribbon rewinding mechanism for providing stable ribbon tension, and more particularly to a ribbon rewinding mechanism for providing stable ribbon tension that is provided with a plurality of unidirectional elements and disposed in a printer. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE 
     A conventional label printer has torsion springs (or friction members such as pieces of wool felt) arranged at its ribbon supply shaft and ribbon take-up shaft, so as to maintain ribbon tension during a printing process, and rewind a carbon ribbon for a short distance through the elastic force of the torsion springs after a printed label is torn off. In this way, before the printer prints the next label, a portion that is left protruding out of the printer after the previous printing process can be rewound to facilitate a subsequent printing process. 
     However, the conventional torsion-spring-aided ribbon rewinding design for a label printer only allows the carbon ribbon to be rewound for a short distance. In applications requiring printing of longer distances, the carbon ribbon cannot be rewound completely. As a solution, driving the ribbon supply shaft and the ribbon take-up shaft respectively by a direct current (DC) motor to rewind the carbon ribbon has been proposed. However, such a solution not only involves a more complicated overall mechanism and incurs higher costs, but is prone to cause the carbon ribbon to be too loose or too tight if there is an improper rotational speed design or a change in motor characteristics after being used for a long time. 
     A loose carbon ribbon may cause ribbon wrinkling during a printing process, and therefore affect printing quality; and a carbon ribbon that is too tight is prone to break. 
     As the technical solution of driving the ribbon supply shaft and the ribbon take-up shaft respectively by a DC motor to rewind a belt body not only incurs higher costs and difficulties in adjusting for ideal working conditions, but also has less-than-desired stability, there is still room for improvement in belt body rewinding techniques. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE 
     In response to the above-referenced technical inadequacies, the present disclosure provides a ribbon rewinding mechanism for providing stable ribbon tension in a printer, which serves as a low cost solution having high operational stability. 
     In one aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a ribbon rewinding mechanism for providing stable ribbon tension in a printer, which includes a base body, a supply shaft assembly, a take-up shaft assembly, a driving unit and a transmission system. The base body is disposed on the printer. The supply shaft assembly includes a first axis rod, at least one supply outer cover and at least one first elastic member. The first axis rod is connected to the base body through a first unidirectional transmission element. The at least one supply outer cover is connectable to a first end of a ribbon. The supply outer cover and the first axis rod drive each other through the first elastic member. The take-up shaft assembly includes a second axis rod, at least one take-up outer cover and at least one second elastic member. The second axis rod is connected to the base body through a second unidirectional transmission element. The at least one take-up outer cover is connectable to a second end of the ribbon. The take-up outer cover and the second axis rod drive each other through the second elastic member. The transmission system is connected to the driving unit, connected to the first axis rod through a third unidirectional transmission element, and connected to the second axis rod through a fourth unidirectional transmission element. When the driving unit drives the transmission system to rotate in a supplying direction, the fourth unidirectional transmission element drives the take-up shaft assembly to rotate, the take-up shaft assembly drives the supply outer cover to rotate through the ribbon, and the first axis rod is restricted by the first unidirectional transmission element from causing the rotation of the supply outer cover. When the driving unit drives the transmission system to rotate in a rewinding direction, the third unidirectional transmission element drives the supply shaft assembly to rotate, the supply shaft assembly drives the take-up outer cover to rotate through the ribbon, and the second axis rod is restricted by the second unidirectional transmission element from causing the rotation of the take-up outer cover. 
     In another aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a ribbon rewinding mechanism for providing stable ribbon tension, which includes a base body, a supply shaft assembly, a take-up shaft assembly, a driving unit and a transmission system. The supply shaft assembly includes a first axis rod, at least one supply outer cover and at least one first elastic member. The first axis rod is connected to the base body through a first unidirectional transmission element. The at least one supply outer cover is connectable to a first end of a ribbon. The supply outer cover and the first axis rod drive each other through the first elastic member. The take-up shaft assembly includes a second axis rod, at least one take-up outer cover and at least one second elastic member. The second axis rod is connected to the base body through a second unidirectional transmission element. The at least one take-up outer cover is connectable to a second end of the ribbon. The take-up outer cover and the second axis rod drive each other through the second elastic member. The transmission system is connected to the driving unit, connected to the first axis rod through a third unidirectional transmission element, and connected to the second axis rod through a fourth unidirectional transmission element. When the driving unit drives the transmission system to rotate in a supplying direction, the fourth unidirectional transmission element drives the take-up shaft assembly to rotate, the take-up shaft assembly drives the supply outer cover to rotate through the ribbon, and the first axis rod is restricted by the first unidirectional transmission element from causing the rotation of the supply outer cover. When the driving unit drives the transmission system to rotate in a rewinding direction, the third unidirectional transmission element drives the supply shaft assembly to rotate, the supply shaft assembly drives the take-up outer cover to rotate through the ribbon, and the second axis rod is restricted by the second unidirectional transmission element from causing the rotation of the take-up outer cover. 
     Therefore, through the technical feature of “the first unidirectional transmission element,” “the second unidirectional transmission element,” “the third unidirectional transmission element” and “the fourth unidirectional transmission element” cooperating with each other, the ribbon rewinding mechanism for providing stable ribbon tension in a printer can stably provide the carbon ribbon with proper tension during the supplying (printing) process and the rewinding (especially for longer distances) process, and during the rewinding process, the carbon ribbon B can be continuously rewound for a distance needed. 
     These and other aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of certain embodiments taken in conjunction with the following drawings and their captions, although variations and modifications therein may be affected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the present disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a structural view of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective assembled view of a ribbon rewinding mechanism for providing stable ribbon tension according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective partially-exploded view of the ribbon rewinding mechanism for providing stable ribbon tension according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of a take-up shaft assembly of the ribbon rewinding mechanism for providing stable ribbon tension according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of the rotation relationship between a supply shaft assembly and the take-up shaft assembly when the two shaft assemblies rotate in a supplying direction to pull a ribbon from the side of the supply shaft assembly to the side of the take-up shaft assembly according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of the rotation relationship between the supply shaft assembly and the take-up shaft assembly when the two shaft assemblies rotate in a rewinding direction to pull the ribbon from the side of the take-up shaft assembly to the side of the supply shaft assembly according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     The present disclosure is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Like numbers in the drawings indicate like components throughout the views. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural reference, and the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on”. Titles or subtitles can be used herein for the convenience of a reader, which shall have no influence on the scope of the present disclosure. 
     The terms used herein generally have their ordinary meanings in the art. In the case of conflict, the present document, including any definitions given herein, will prevail. The same thing can be expressed in more than one way. Alternative language and synonyms can be used for any term(s) discussed herein, and no special significance is to be placed upon whether a term is elaborated or discussed herein. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification including examples of any terms is illustrative only, and in no way limits the scope and meaning of the present disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the present disclosure is not limited to various embodiments given herein. Numbering terms such as “first”, “second” or “third” can be used to describe various components, signals or the like, which are for distinguishing one component/signal from another one only, and are not intended to, nor should be construed to impose any substantive limitations on the components, signals or the like. 
     First Embodiment 
     Reference is made to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 1  is a structural view of a printer D according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.  FIG. 2  is a perspective assembled view of a ribbon rewinding mechanism  1  for providing stable ribbon tension in a printer according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. As can be seen from  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the ribbon rewinding mechanism  1  for providing stable ribbon tension in the printer D according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure includes a base body  11 , a supply shaft assembly  12 , a take-up shaft assembly  13 , a driving unit (not shown in the figures), and a transmission system  14  (as shown in  FIG. 3 ). It should be noted in advance that descriptions relating to the terms “supply” and “take-up” in the present disclosure are mainly based on the roles of the ribbon rewinding mechanism  1  serving in a normal working state (namely, a printing state) of the printer D, in which the shaft assembly used to provide unused carbon ribbon B is referred to as the supply shaft assembly  12 , and the shaft assembly used to take up the used carbon ribbon B is referred to as the take-up shaft assembly  13 , so as to distinguish between the two shaft assemblies and facilitate understanding of the technique of the present disclosure. However, which one of the two shaft assemblies actively drives the scrolling of the carbon ribbon B during the process of printing or the process of retracting the carbon ribbon B is not limited by the foregoing description, and the roles and/or positions of the two shaft assemblies can be exchanged. 
     Further, the supply shaft assembly  12  and the take-up shaft assembly  13  are disposed on the printer D through the base body  11 . The base body  11  can be a mounting plate detachably disposed on the printer D, or may be a part of the printer D itself. In the present embodiment, a carbon ribbon B is a ribbon (in the present embodiment, a carbon ribbon) used for printing a label, and the two ends of the carbon ribbon B are respectively connected to the supply shaft assembly  12  and the take-up shaft assembly  13 . As the supply shaft assembly  12  or the take-up shaft assembly  13  rotates, the content desired by a user is printed onto the paper strip P. 
     Next, the specific structure of the supply shaft assembly  12  and the take-up shaft assembly  13  and their connection relationship with the base body  11  is further described as follows. Reference is made to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 3  is a perspective partially-exploded view of the ribbon rewinding mechanism  1  for providing stable ribbon tension according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.  FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the take-up shaft assembly  13  of the first embodiment. The supply shaft assembly  12  includes a first axis rod  121 , at least one supply outer cover  122  and at least one first elastic member  123 . The first axis rod  121  is connected to the base body  11  through a first unidirectional transmission element R 1 . The supply outer cover  122  is sleeved on the first axis rod  121 , and the supply outer cover  122  and the first axis rod  121  drive each other through the first elastic member  123 . Similarly, the take-up shaft assembly  13  includes a second axis rod  131 , at least one take-up outer cover  132  and at least one second elastic member  133 . The second axis rod  131  is connected to the base body  11  through the second unidirectional transmission element R 2 . The take-up outer cover  132  is sleeved on the second axis rod  131 , and the take-up outer cover  132  and the second axis rod  131  drive each other through the second elastic member  133 . 
     Specifically, the first elastic member  123  and the second elastic member  133  of the present embodiment can be elastic torsion springs. Taking the supply shaft assembly  12  as an example, when the first axis rod  121  rotates, the friction between the first axis rod  121  and the first elastic member  123  and between the first elastic member  123  and the supply outer cover  122  causes the supply outer cover  122  and the first axial rod  121  to drive each other, and causes the first elastic member  123  to be elastically deformed and cumulates elastic potential energy in the first elastic member  123 . Through the cumulated elastic potential energy in the first elastic member  123 , the tension on the carbon ribbon B (as shown in  FIG. 1 ) can be maintained. It should be particularly noted that although elastic torsion springs are used as the first elastic member  123  and the second elastic member  133  in the present embodiment, in actual practice, friction members (or called slipping members) having similar functions, such as those made of wool felt, may be used instead, and the present disclosure is not limited to the materials named in the embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     Further, referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 4 , taking the supply shaft assembly  12  again as an example, in the present embodiment, the supply shaft assembly  12  can further include a second supply outer cover  122  and another first elastic member  123 . The second supply cover  122  and the first axis rod  121  drive each other through the other first elastic member  123 . In other words, the supply shaft assembly  12  of the present embodiment can be provided with two sets of supply outer covers  122  and first elastic members  123 . In actual practice, if the carbon ribbon B to be used has a relatively small width, or cannot withstand a relatively large tension, the carbon ribbon B can be sleeved on only one set of supply outer cover  122  to prevent the carbon ribbon B from breaking when the elastic restoring force of two sets of first elastic members  123  is overly large. By contrast, if a relatively large elastic restoring force is needed to maintain the tension on the carbon ribbon B, the carbon ribbon B can be sleeved on both of the two supply outer covers  122 , thereby obtaining a sufficient elastic restoring force from the first elastic members  123 . In actual practice, the number of the supply outer cover  122  and the first elastic member  123  may be appropriately adjusted as needed, and is not limited to one or two as described in the present embodiment. On the other hand, the take-up shaft assembly  13  of the present disclosure can also have a similar design to cooperatively adjust the tension on the carbon ribbon B, and the specific principles and technical details thereof are not repeated herein for brevity. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , together with  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the working states of the ribbon rewinding mechanism  1  for providing stable ribbon tension of the present disclosure is described as follows.  FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of the rotation relationship between the supply shaft assembly  12  and the take-up shaft assembly  13  when the two shaft assemblies  12  and  13  rotate in a supplying direction to pull the carbon ribbon B from the side of the supply shaft assembly  12  to the take-up shaft assembly  13 .  FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of the rotation relationship between the supply shaft assembly  12  and the take-up shaft assembly  13  when the two shaft assemblies  12  and  13  rotate in a rewinding direction to pull the carbon ribbon B from the side of the take-up shaft assembly  13  to the side of the supply shaft assembly  12 . As can be seen from the above figures, the two ends of the carbon ribbon B of the present disclosure are respectively connected to the supply outer cover  122  and the take-up outer cover  132 . The transmission system  14  of the present disclosure is connected to the driving unit (not shown in the figures) to drive the first axis rod  121  or the second axis rod  131  to rotate by the driving force generated by the driving unit. The drive unit can be a DC motor or any other component that can provide a source of power. 
     Specifically, the transmission system  14  is connected to the first axis rod  121  through a third unidirectional transmission element R 3 , and connected to the second axis rod  131  through a fourth unidirectional transmission element R 4 . Accordingly, the transmission system  14  can drive the first axis rod  121  through the third unidirectional transmission element R 3 , and can also drive the second axis rod  131  through the fourth unidirectional transmission element R 4 . In the present embodiment, the transmission system  14  further includes a supply gear  141 , a take-up gear  142 , and a transmission gear set  143 . The supply gear  141  is connected to the third unidirectional transmission element R 3  to drive the first axis rod  121  through the third unidirectional transmission element R 3 . The take-up gear  142  is connected to the fourth unidirectional transmission element R 4  to drive the second axis rod  131  through the fourth transmission element R 4 . The transmission gear set  143  is meshed with the supply gear  141  and the take-up gear  142 , respectively, such that the supply gear  141  and the take-up gear  142  rotate together. In the present embodiment, the transmission gear set  143  has three intermeshing gears, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Specifically, as long as a structure can drive the supply gear  141  and the take-up gear  142  to rotate with each other, such a structure can be defined as the transmission gear set  143 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , during a printing process, the driving unit drives the transmission system  14  (as shown in  FIG. 3 ) to rotate in the supplying direction to pull the carbon ribbon B from the side of the supply shaft assembly  12  to the side of the take-up shaft assembly  13 . At this time, the fourth unidirectional transmission element R 4  is in a transmission state, and the second unidirectional transmission element R 2  is in an idle state, so that the transmission system  14  can drive the second axis rod  131  of the take-up shaft assembly  13  to rotate through the fourth unidirectional transmission element R 4 , while the rotation of the second axis rod  131  is not restricted by the second unidirectional transmission element R 2 . The rotation of the second axis rod  131  causes the take-up outer cover  132  to rotate together with the second axis rod  131 , so the take-up shaft assembly  13  can drive the carbon ribbon B through the take-up outer cover  132 , and further drive the supply outer cover  122  through the carbon ribbon B. 
     In this state, since the rotation of the first axis rod  121  is restricted by the first unidirectional transmission element R 1 , although the supply outer cover  122  is driven by the carbon ribbon B, the supply outer cover  122  cannot drive the first axis rod  121  through the first elastic member  123 . Specifically, since the rotation of the first axis rod  121  is restricted by the first unidirectional transmission element R 1 , friction continuously acts on the first elastic member  123 , and the elastic potential energy is cumulated in the first elastic member  123 , until the cumulated elastic potential energy is greater than the maximum static friction between the first elastic member  123  and the first axis rod  121  or the supply outer cover  122 . When the cumulated elastic potential energy is greater than the maximum static friction between the first elastic member  123  and the first axis rod  121  or the supply outer cover  122 , the first elastic member  123  rotates relative to the first axis rod  121  or the supply outer cover  122 . When the external force applied to the first elastic member  123  is gone (for example, when printing is completed), the elastic restoring force of the first elastic member  123  is exerted on the first axis rod  121  and the supply outer cover  122 , thereby driving the supply outer cover  122  to rotate in the opposite direction to rewind the carbon ribbon B for a small distance. It should be particularly noted that since the amount of the cumulated elastic potential energy is limited, the short-distance rewinding mechanism discussed above cannot rewind the carbon ribbon B for a longer distance continuously. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , the operation details of the ribbon rewinding mechanism  1  rewinding the carbon ribbon B is described as follows. During the process of rewinding the carbon ribbon B for a longer distance, the driving unit drives the transmission system  14  (shown in  FIG. 3 ) to rotate in the rewinding direction to pull the carbon ribbon B from the side of the take-up shaft assembly  13  to the side of the supply shaft assembly  12 . At this time, the third unidirectional transmission element R 3  is in a transmission state, and the first unidirectional transmission element R 1  is in an idle state, so that the transmission system  14  can drive the first axis rod  121  of the supply shaft assembly  12  to rotate through the third unidirectional transmission element R 3 , and the rotation of the first axis rod  121  is not restricted by the first unidirectional transmission element R 1 . In this way, as long as the driving unit continuously drives the transmission system  14  to rotate in the rewinding direction, the supply shaft assembly  12  can continuously rewind the carbon ribbon B, and the rewinding distance is not limited by the elastic potential energy cumulated in the first elastic member  123  or the second elastic member  133 . 
     In the foregoing process of rewinding the carbon ribbon B, the supply shaft assembly  12  drives the take-up outer cover  132  through the carbon ribbon B. Similarly, since the rotation of the second axis rod  131  is restricted by the second unidirectional transmission element R 2 , although the take-up outer cover  132  is driven by the carbon ribbon B, the take-up outer cover  132  cannot drive the second axis rod  131  through the second elastic member  133 . 
     Reference is made again to  FIGS. 3, 5 and 6 . It is worth mentioning that although the second axis rod  131  of the take-up shaft assembly  13  is driven by the take-up gear  142  through the fourth unidirectional transmission element R 4 , during a printing process, since the third unidirectional transmission element R 3  is in an idle state, the supply gear  141  does not drive the first axis rod  121  to rotate (and at this time, the first axis rod  121  is restricted by the first unidirectional transmission element R 1 , and therefore does not rotate relative to the base body  11 ) when rotating together with the take-up gear  142 . 
     By contrast, during the process of rewinding the carbon ribbon B, although the supply gear  141  drives the first axis rod  121  of the supply shaft assembly  12  to rotate through the third unidirectional transmission element R 3 , since the fourth unidirectional transmission element R 4  is in an idle state, the take-up gear  142  does not drive the second axis rod  131  to rotate (and at this time, the second axis rod  131  is restricted by the second unidirectional transmission element R 2 , and therefore does not rotate relative to the base body  11 ) when rotating together with the supply gear  141 . 
     The afore-referenced design has at least the following advantages. Through the first unidirectional transmission element R 1 , the second unidirectional transmission element R 2 , the third unidirectional transmission element R 3  and the fourth unidirectional transmission element R 4  that are in cooperation with the first elastic member  123  and the second elastic member  133 , a constant tension can be exerted on the carbon ribbon B regardless of whether the first axial rod  121  rotates together with the second axial rod  131 , or whether the first axial rod  121  and the second axial rod  131  are respectively driven by a motor, and the outermost ribbon layers wound respectively thereon have different rotational speeds. Accordingly, problems such as loosening or breaking of the carbon ribbon B can be avoided. 
     Also, in the present embodiment, the first unidirectional transmission element R 1 , the second unidirectional transmission element R 2 , the third unidirectional transmission element R 3 , and the fourth unidirectional transmission element R 4  can be unidirectional bearings, while in other embodiments of the present disclosure, the unidirectional transmission elements are not limited to being unidirectional bearings. Specifically, as long as a component is capable of having a transmission state and an idle state, and achieving a unidirectional transmission purpose, the component can be used as the first unidirectional transmission element R 1 , the second unidirectional transmission element R 2 , the third unidirectional transmission element R 3 , or the fourth unidirectional transmission element R 4  of the present disclosure. 
     Second Embodiment 
     Referring again to  FIG. 3 , it is noted that while in the first embodiment of the present disclosure the transmission system  14  includes components such as a supply gear  141 , a take-up gear  142  and a transmission gear set  143 , in other embodiments, the transmission system  14  can include a supply pulley, a take-up pulley, a transmission belt, and the like. In the second embodiment, the supply pulley is connected to the third unidirectional transmission element R 3 , the take-up pulley is connected to the fourth unidirectional transmission element R 4 , and the supply pulley and the take-up pulley are mutually connected by the transmission belt. Such an arrangement can also achieve the purpose served by the transmission system  14  of the present disclosure, and therefore also falls within the scope covered by the transmission system  14  of the present disclosure. Similarly, other transmission methods sufficient to achieve the same or similar transmission effects are also within the scope of the transmission system  14  of the present disclosure. 
     Therefore, through the technical feature of “the first unidirectional transmission element R 1 ,” “the second unidirectional transmission element R 2 ,” “the third unidirectional transmission element R 3 ” and “the fourth unidirectional transmission element R 4 ” cooperating with each other, the ribbon rewinding mechanism  1  for providing stable ribbon tension of the present disclosure can stably provide the carbon ribbon B with proper tension during the supplying (printing) process and the rewinding (especially for longer distances) process, and during the rewinding process, the carbon ribbon B can be continuously rewound for a distance needed. 
     Further, through a simpler structural design, the present disclosure achieves an excellent effect of stably providing proper tension at a very low cost, which helps to greatly enhance the competitive advantage of a product. Although the present disclosure mainly uses the printer D to exemplarily describe the mechanism for pulling a ribbon (such as the carbon ribbon B for printing) in two opposite directions for a long distance, but in other embodiments, the mechanism can also be applied to other devices that require a belt body to be pulled. 
     The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. 
     Certain embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the present disclosure and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the present disclosure and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from its spirit and scope.