Patent Publication Number: US-2022225771-A1

Title: Reclining seating unit with wall-proximity capability

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/037,911, filed Sep. 30, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,297,947, which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/912,225, filed Oct. 8, 2019, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in full. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to seating units, and relates more particularly to reclining seating units. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Recliner chairs and other reclining seating units have proven to be popular with consumers. These seating units typically move from an upright position, in which the backrest is generally upright, to one or more reclined positions, in which the backrest pivots to be less upright. The movement of the seating unit between the upright and reclined positions is typically controlled by a pair of matching reclining mechanisms that are attached to the seat, backrest and base of the chair. 
     One particularly popular reclining chair is the so-called “wall-proximity” chair. In a conventional reclining chair, as the backrest moves to the reclined position, the upper end of the backrest moves rearwardly relative to the base of the chair. As a result, typically the chair cannot be positioned such that the backrest is adjacent a wall, as the reclining backrest would strike the wall and thereby be prevented from fully reclining. A “wall-proximity” reclining chair includes some type of mechanism (typically either a linkage or a set of wheels that roll on a track) that move the seat of the chair forward relative to the base to provide additional room for the backrest to recline. Typically, such chairs are configured so that the seat and backrest move forward relative to the base when the chair moves from an upright position to a partially reclined “TV” position, in which the footrest is extended. The seat and backrest then move farther forward relative to the base as the chair from the TV position to its fully reclined position. Exemplary wall-proximity chairs are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,663 to Cycowicz et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,337,977 to Rogers et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,778 to Rogers, U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,960 to Tacker, U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,710 to Wiecek, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,930 to LaPointe et al., and in U.S. Patent Publication No. 20080036248 to Murphy et al., the disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated herein in their entireties. A typical wall-proximity chair in its upright position can be placed with the backrest within 3 to 4 inches of an adjacent wall and still avoid striking the adjacent wall when moved to the fully reclined position. 
     One potential shortcoming of wall-proximity chairs is that the wall-proximity mechanism or wheel/rail system is typically somewhat complex, with multiple interconnected intricate parts. As such, production of these mechanisms can be relatively expensive. Also, the mechanisms that control the movement of wall-proximity chairs tend to be rather bulky, and therefore may be unsuitable for some specialized chairs. For example, some chairs have a “high leg” style in which the arms of the chair are raised several inches off of the underlying surface (typically between about 2 and 5 inches). It is ordinarily undesirable for portions of a reclining mechanism to be visible in the space below the chair when the chair is in the upright position, so designers/inventors are faced with providing a reclining mechanism that folds into a relatively small package that is not visible from the side in the upright position. 
     SUMMARY 
     As a first aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a wall-proximity reclining seating unit. The wall-proximity seating unit comprises: a frame having a back member and a pair of arms, the back member extending between the arms; a backrest; a seat having a seat frame; a first footrest; a reclining mechanism connected between the frame, backrest, seat, and first footrest, the reclining mechanism comprising a series of pivotally interconnected links and configured to move the seating unit between: (a) an upright position, in which the backrest is disposed at a first generally upright backrest angle, the seat is disposed at a first generally horizontal seat angle, and the first footrest is retracted below a forward portion of the seat; (b) a TV position, in which the backrest substantially maintains the first backrest angle, the seat substantially maintains the first seat angle, and the first footrest is disposed generally horizontally and in front of the seat; and (c) a fully reclined position, in which the backrest is disposed at a second backrest angle that is shallower than the first backrest angle, the first footrest remains positioned in front of the seat, and the seat is moved forward of its position in the TV position between about 8 and 10 inches; and a linear actuator comprising an energizing unit, a rail, and a carriage that is movable along the rail, wherein the carriage is connected with the reclining mechanism. The reclining mechanism includes a footrest linkage that is configured to move the first footrest between the upright and TV positions, and further includes a reclining linkage that is configured to move the seat and backrest relative to the frame from the TV position to the fully reclined position. 
     As a second aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a wall-proximity reclining seating unit comprising: a frame having a rearmost upper back member and a pair of arms; a backrest: a seat having a seat frame; a first footrest; a reclining mechanism connected between the frame, backrest, seat, and first footrest, the reclining mechanism comprising a series of pivotally interconnected links and configured to move the seating unit between: (a) an upright position, in which the backrest is disposed at a first generally upright backrest angle, the seat is disposed at a first generally horizontal seat angle, and the first footrest is retracted below a forward portion of the seat; (b) a TV position, in which the backrest substantially maintains the first backrest angle, the seat substantially maintains the first seat angle, and the first footrest is disposed generally horizontally and in front of the seat; and (c) a fully reclined position, in which the backrest is disposed at a second backrest angle that is shallower than the first backrest angle and an uppermost end of the backrest is positioned in front of the rearmost back member, the first footrest remains positioned in front of the seat, and the seat is moved forward of its position in the TV position; and a linear actuator comprising an energizing unit, a rail, and a carriage that is movable along the rail, wherein the carriage is connected with the reclining mechanism. The reclining mechanism includes a footrest linkage that is configured to move the first footrest between the upright and TV positions, and further includes a reclining linkage that is configured to move the seat and backrest relative to the frame from the TV position to the fully reclined position. 
     As a third aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a wall-proximity reclining seating unit comprising: a frame having a back member and a pair of arms, the back member extending between the arms; a backrest; a seat having a seat frame; a first footrest; a reclining mechanism connected between the frame, backrest, seat, and first footrest, the reclining mechanism comprising a series of pivotally interconnected links and configured to move the seating unit between: (a) an upright position, in which the backrest is disposed at a first generally upright backrest angle, the seat is disposed at a first generally horizontal seat angle, and the first footrest is retracted below a forward portion of the seat; (b) a TV position, in which the backrest substantially maintains the first backrest angle, the seat substantially maintains the first seat angle, and the first footrest is disposed generally horizontally and in front of the seat; and (c) a fully reclined position, in which the backrest is disposed at a second backrest angle that is shallower than the first backrest angle; and a linear actuator comprising an energizing unit, a rail, and a carriage that is movable along the rail, wherein the carriage is connected with the reclining mechanism. The reclining mechanism includes a footrest linkage that is configured to move the first footrest between the upright and TV positions, and further includes a reclining linkage that is configured to move the seat and backrest relative to the frame from the TV position to the fully reclined position. The reclining linkage comprises a foundation link mounted to one of the arms, a carrier link, front and rear recline links pivotally attached to the foundation link and the carrier link, and front and rear pivot links pivotally attached to the carrier link and to the seat frame. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of a wall-proximity reclining chair according to embodiments of the invention, the chair shown in the upright position. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the chair of  FIG. 1  shown in the TV position. 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of the chair of  FIG. 1  shown in the fully reclined position. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the reclining and footrest mechanism of the chair of  FIG. 1  shown in the upright position. 
         FIG. 5  is a side view of the mechanism of  FIG. 4  shown in the TV position. 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of the mechanism of  FIG. 4  shown in the fully reclined position. 
         FIG. 7  is a top view of the chair of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention now is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. 
     Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. In the figures, the thickness of certain lines, layers, components, elements or features may be exaggerated for clarity. Broken lines illustrate optional features or operations unless specified otherwise. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used herein, phrases such as “between X and Y” and “between about X and Y” should be interpreted to include X and Y. As used herein, phrases such as “between about X and Y” mean “between about X and about Y.” As used herein, phrases such as “from about X to Y” mean “from about X to about Y.” 
     Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the specification and relevant art and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity. 
     It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “on”, “attached” to, “connected” to, “coupled” with, “contacting”, etc., another element, it can be directly on, attached to, connected to, coupled with or contacting the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being, for example, “directly on”, “directly attached” to, “directly connected” to, “directly coupled” with or “directly contacting” another element, there are no intervening elements present. It will also be appreciated by those of skill in the art that references to a structure or feature that is disposed “adjacent” another feature may have portions that overlap or underlie the adjacent feature. 
     The seating units illustrated and described herein comprise a plurality of pivotally interconnected links. Those skilled in this art will appreciate that the pivots between links can take a variety of configurations, such as pivot pins, rivets, bolt and nut combinations, and the like, any of which would be suitable for use with the present invention. Also, the shapes of the links may vary as desired, as may the locations of certain of the pivots. Moreover, in some instances combinations of pivot points may be replaced by equivalent structures, such as “slider-crank” configurations, like those described in B. Paul,  Kinematics and Dynamics of Planar Machinery  4-21 (1979). 
     Referring now to the figures, a reclining wall-avoiding seating unit, designated broadly at  10 , is shown in  FIGS. 1-6 . The seating unit  10  includes a frame  12  having two opposed arms  14  connected by multiple cross-members  16 . Specifically, the frame  12  includes a back section  18  that spans upper end portions  14   a  of the arms  14 , and is supported by feet  19 , which may be between 2 to 4 inches in height or more. The seating unit  10  also includes a seat  20  with a cushion (not shown) that overlies a seat frame  22 , a backrest  24 , and main and auxiliary footrests  29   a,    29   b.    
     The seat  20 , the backrest  24  and the footrests  29   a,    29   b  are interconnected by two mirror image reclining mechanisms  30 . The mechanisms  30  are mirror images of each other about a longitudinal plane that divides the chair into left and right sides (see  FIG. 7 ). As such, only one reclining mechanism  30  will be discussed in detail herein, with the understanding that the discussion is equally applicable to its mirror image mechanism. Also, the reclining mechanism  30  will be described first with respect to the fully reclined position ( FIGS. 3 and 6 ) in order to illustrate more easily the interconnection of the various links thereof. 
     The reclining mechanism  30  includes a foundation link  190  is fixed to the inner surface of the arm  14   a  to provide mounting locations for multiple links of the reclining mechanism  30 . The reclining mechanism includes a reclining linkage  150  that controls the movement of the backrest  24  and seat  20  relative to the frame  12 , and further includes a footrest linkage  83  that controls the movement of the footrests  29   a,    29   b  relative to the seat  20 . These linkages  150 ,  83  are described in greater detail below. 
     The reclining linkage  150  includes a carrier link  152  that extends generally longitudinally. A lower rear pivot link  154  is mounted to the foundation link  190  at a pivot  156  and extends forwardly and upwardly therefrom. An angled upper rear pivot link  158  is attached at its lower end to the lower rear pivot link  154  at a pivot  160  and extends upwardly and slightly forwardly therefrom. A control link  162  is attached at its lower end to the vertex of the upper rear pivot link  158  at a pivot  164  and extends upwardly and slightly rearwardly to a pivot  166  with a backpost  165  fixed to the backrest  24 . A saddle-shaped extension  168  is fixed to the rear end of the seat frame  22 ; the extension  168  is attached to the backpost  165  at a pivot  172  and to the upper end of the upper rear pivot link  158  at a pivot  170 . 
     A rear recline link  174  is attached to the carrier link  152  at a pivot  176  and extends upwardly and slightly forwardly therefrom to a pivot  178  with the seat frame  22 . A front recline link  208  is attached at its lower end to the forward end of the carrier link  152  at a pivot  212  and extends upwardly and slightly forwardly therefrom. At its upper end, the front recline link  208  is attached to the seat frame  22  at a pivot  205 . A forward swing link  202  is attached to the carrier link  152  at a pivot  204  and to the forward end of the foundation link  190  at a pivot  206 . A connecting link  220  is attached at its lower end to the forward end of the forward swing link  202  at a pivot  222  and to an intermediate region of the front recline link  208  at a pivot  224 . A rear swing link  196  is attached to the carrier link  152  at a pivot  198  and extends upwardly and slightly rearwardly therefrom to a pivot  200  with the foundation link  190 . 
     The footrest linkage  83  includes a lower footrest swing link  84  that is attached to the seat frame  22  at a pivot  85  and extends forwardly therefrom. An upper footrest swing link  88  is also attached to the seat frame  22  at a pivot  90  and extends forwardly therefrom. An upper footrest extension link  92  is attached to the forward end of the lower footrest swing link  84  at a pivot  94  and extends upwardly and forwardly therefrom. The upper footrest extension link  92  is also attached to the upper footrest swing link  88  at a pivot  93 . A lower footrest extension link  96  is attached to the forward end of the upper footrest swing link  88  at a pivot  98  and extends forwardly and upwardly therefrom. A main footrest bracket  100  is attached to the forward end of the upper footrest extension link  92  and the lower footrest extension link  96  at, respectively, pivots  102 ,  104 . The main footrest  29   a  is mounted on the main footrest bracket  100  ( FIG. 3 ). 
     A lower auxiliary footrest swing link  110  is attached to the main footrest bracket  100  at the pivot  104 , and an upper auxiliary footrest swing link  116  is attached to the main footrest bracket  100  at a pivot  118 . An auxiliary footrest bracket  120  is attached to the front ends of the swing links  110 ,  116  at, respectively, pivots  122 ,  124 . A control link  106  is attached to the forward end of the lower footrest extension link  96  at a pivot  108  and to the upper auxiliary footrest swing link  116  at a pivot  112 . The auxiliary footrest  29   b  is mounted on the auxiliary footrest bracket  120  ( FIG. 3 ). 
     The seating unit  10  also includes an actuating unit  250  that drives the seating unit  10  between an upright position (shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4 ), a TV position (shown in  FIGS. 2 and 5 ), and a fully reclined position (shown in  FIGS. 3 and 6 ). The actuating unit  250  includes a linear actuator  251  that comprises a motor  252 , a rail  254 , a threaded drive screw  255 , and a carriage  256 . A bracket  258  is mounted at a pivot  262  at the rear end of the linear actuator  250  near the motor  252 . The bracket  258  is fixed to a cross-member  260  that is fixed to the rear ends of the carrier links  152 . The carriage  256  is mounted to the drive screw  255  for longitudinal movement along the rail  254 . A drive link  270  is fixed to and moves in concert with the carriage  256 . The drive link  270  has a forward extension  271  that extends below the rail  254 . A bracket  274  is pivotally mounted to the forward extension  271  of the drive link  270  at a pivot  272 . The bracket is fixed to a cross-member  276  that extends to a fixed attachment with the forward ends of the lower footrest swing link  84 . The motor  252  of the linear actuator  250  is operably connected to a power source (shown schematically at  300  in  FIG. 7 ). which may be a battery, an electrical outlet accessible via a power cord, or the like. The motor  252  may also be connected to a control unit (e.g., a keypad, joystick, toggle switch, button, etc.) that initiates and ceases operation of the motor  252 . 
     In operation, the seating unit  10  may begin in the upright position shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4 . In the fully upright position, the carriage  256  of the linear actuator  250  is positioned at the rear of the rail  254  adjacent the motor  252 . In this position, the drive link  270  is drawn rearwardly. The bracket  274  is rotated such that the cross-member  276  is lowered and positioned rearwardly of the pivot  272 . The footrest linkage  83  is folded under the front portion of the seat  20 , with the main footrest  29   a  generally vertically disposed just forward of the seat  20 , and the auxiliary footrest  29   b  generally vertically disposed rearward of the main footrest  29   a.  In the fully upright position, the reclining linkage is disposed such that the rear swing link  196  and the forward swing link  202  are both disposed generally, upright, but with a rearward lean. This arrangement positions the carrier link  152  such that its central section is above generally beneath the front end of the foundation link  190 , and the forward end of the carrier link  152  is beneath and just rearward of the front end of the seat frame  22 . The rear recline link  174  and the front recline link  208  are disposed with a more pronounced rearward lean than the rear and forward seat swing links  196 ,  202 ; they are maintained in their respective positions by pins  152   a,    22   a,  which are located on the carrier link  152  and seat frame  22 , respectively, and which engage edges of the rear recline link  174  and the front recline link  208 . The result is that the seat frame  22  has a slight pitch (between about 2 and 7 degrees). The lower rear pivot link  154  extends generally forwardly and upwardly from the pivot  156 , and the upper rear pivot link  158  extends upwardly and rearwardly from the pivot  160 . As such, the backpost  165  (and in turn the backrest  24 ) are tilted slightly rearwardly (at an angle of between about 105 and 120 degrees relative to horizontal), with the backrest  24  in front a the back section  18  of the frame  12 . As can be seen in  FIG. 1 . the back section  18  may be solid and extend both the full width and the full height of the frame  12 , with the backrest  24  being positioned in front of the back section  18 . 
     The height of the reclining mechanism  30  below the seat  20 , measured from the lowest point (in this instance the lowest point is represented by the portions of the connecting link  220  and the front recline link  208  below the pivot  222 ) to the highest point on the seat frame  22 , is between about 8 and 10 inches. This height can enable the seating unit  10  to have a conventional and comfortable seat height (typically between about 16 and 20 inches above the underlying floor) while enable the reclining mechanism  30  to be used with a “high leg” seating unit that has arms that may be between about 2 and 5 inches from the floor. 
     To move the seating unit  10  from the upright position to the TV position of  FIGS. 2 and 5 , the occupant energizes the motor  252  to rotate the drive screw  255  to drive the carriage  256  forwardly on the rail  254 . The forward movement of the carriage  256  forces the drive link  270  forward. The forward movement of the drive link  270  draws the bracket  274  forward and forces the lower end of the lower footrest swing link  84  forward, thereby rotating the lower footrest swing link  84  counterclockwise about the pivot  85 . The movement of the lower footrest swing link  84  drives the upper footrest extension link  92  forwardly, which in turn rotates the upper footrest swing link  88  about the pivot  90 . Rotation of the upper footrest swing link  88  drives the lower footrest extension link  96  forwardly and causes it to separate slightly from the upper footrest extension link  92 . The relative movement of the upper and lower footrest extension links  92 ,  96  rotates the main ottoman bracket  100  counterclockwise to a generally horizontal position. Relative rotation of the main ottoman bracket  100  and the lower footrest extension link  96  also forces the control link  106  away from the main footrest bracket  100 , which extends the upper auxiliary footrest swing link  116  and, in turn, the auxiliary footrest bracket  120 . Extension ceases when the upper footrest swing link  88  strikes a pin  92   a  on the upper footrest extension link  92 , which occurs when the carriage  256  is approximately in the center of the rail  254 . Additional aspects of the extension of the footrests  29   a,    29   b  may be discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,752,890 to Murphy et al., the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     Notably, during the movement of the footrest linkage  83  between the upright and TV positions, the foundation link  190 , the carrier link  152 , and the seat frame  22  do not move relative to each other. Thus, the pitch of the seat  20  relative to the frame  12  and the incline of the backrest  24  relative to the seat  20  and frame  12  are essentially unchanged, which also indicates that any cushions employed with the seat  20  and backrest  24  are undisturbed by the movement of the seating unit  10  to the TV position. The seating unit  10  preferentially drives the footrest linkage  83  rather than the reclining linkage  150  because of the rearward disposition of the front and rear recline links  208 ,  174  and the front and rear swing links  202 ,  196 . There is sufficient resistance to the clockwise pivoting of these links (provided in large part by the weight of the occupant on the seat  20 ) that these links remain in position as the footrest linkage  83  extends the footrests  29   a,    29   b.    
     It should also be noted that the linear actuator  250  can pivot relative to the carrier link  152  (and, thus, relative to the frame  12 ) by rotating slightly about the pivot  262 . 
     To move the seating unit  10  from the TV position to the fully reclined position of  FIGS. 3 and 6 , the occupant energizes the motor  252  to impel the carriage  256  further forwardly along the rail  254  via the drive screw  255 . Because the footrest linkage  83  is fully extended, additional force on the lower footrest swing link  84  cannot cause further movement in the footrest linkage  83 ; thus, additional force applied by the carriage  256  onto the lower footrest swing link  84  (through the bracket  274  and cross-member  276 ) begins to drive the seat frame  22  forwardly and slightly upwardly relative to the foundation link  152 . This movement is controlled by the front and rear recline links  208 ,  174 , each of which pivots clockwise about a respective pivot  212 ,  176 . Clockwise rotation of the front recline link  208  also draws the connecting link  220  forward, which in turn rotates the forward swing link  202  counterclockwise about the pivot  204 . This rotation drives the carrier link  152  forwardly and slightly upwardly relative to the foundation link  190  (this action is controlled in the rear by the rear swing link  196  pivoting counterclockwise about the pivot  200 ). Upward and forward movement of the seat frame  22  draws the upper end of the upper pivot link  158  forwardly, which in turn, through the control link  162 , rotates the backpost  165  counterclockwise about the pivot  172  relative to the seat frame  22 . This rotation of the backpost  165  rotates the backrest  24  relative to the seat  20 . Reclining motion ceases when the carriage  256  reaches the frontmost end of the rail  254 . 
     It can be seen in  FIG. 3  that, in the fully reclined position, the lower end of the backrest  24  has moved forwardly considerably (typically between about 8 and 10 inches) from its position in the TV position. Thus, even though the backrest  24  is reclined (typically to an angle of between about 130 and 140 degrees with the seat  20 ), the upper end of the backrest  24  remains well forward of the back section  18  of the frame  12 . As a result, the seating unit  10  may be appropriate for use with a “T-cushion” overlying the backrest  24 . A T-cushion has “ears” that extend over the top of the arms  14  when the seating unit  10  is in the upright position. In many wall-proximity seating units, employment of T-cushions overlying the backrest are discouraged because the movement of the backrest and/or seat can cause the T-cushion to be dislodged from its preferred position, as the ears of the T-cushion catch on the arms during movement to the TV and/or fully reclined positions. The configuration of the seating unit  10  may enable movement between all positions without disturbing or dislodging a backrest T-cushion. 
     In addition, in the fully reclined position the seat frame  22  (and thus the seat  20 ) has moved forwardly relative to its position in the TV position between about 8 and 10 inches. 
     Those of skill in this art will appreciate that seating units according to embodiments of the invention may take other forms. For example, while a chair is shown herein, the reclining mechanisms  30  may be employed in other seating units, such as love seats, sofas, sectional sofas, and the like. 
     Also, in other embodiments the actuating mechanisms may vary as desired, including both manually-operated units and other power-actuated units. For example, “telescoping” linear actuators may replace the linear actuators that have a carriage that slides along a base rail as shown herein. However, the use of a linear actuator with a carriage may take advantage of the longer “stroke” to facilitate movement of the reclining mechanism. 
     Further, the seating unit  10  may have only one footrest, or may have three or more footrests in other embodiments. Other variations will be apparent to those of skill in this art. 
     The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. Although exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the claims. The invention is defined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to be included therein.