Patent Publication Number: US-7725062-B2

Title: Drive control unit, drive control method and image forming apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention generally relates to drive control units, drive control methods and image forming apparatuses, and more particularly to a drive control unit and a drive control method for controlling speeds of a plurality of driving parts, and an image forming apparatus which employs such a drive control unit or drive control method. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Conventionally, as methods of forming color images, there are the intermediate transfer method and the tandem method. The intermediate transfer method forms a toner image on one photoconductive drum, one color at a time, and obtains the full color image by successively transferring the toner images of different colors on a transfer member. The tandem method arranged a plurality of photoconductive drums in parallel, forms the toner image of one color at each photoconductive drum, and obtains the full color image by successively transferring the toner images of different colors on the transfer member which successively passes the plurality of photoconductive drums. According to the tandem method, it is possible to carry out a high-speed image formation by operating the plurality of photoconductive drums approximately at the same time in synchronism with each other. 
   Since the tandem method overlaps the toner images of the different colors, the plurality of photoconductive drums must rotate without flutter and in accurate synchronism with each other. Hence, in the tandem method which uses the plurality of photoconductive drums (for example, four photoconductive drums in order to obtain the full color image), the rotational speeds of the photoconductive drums are controlled independently so as to match the toner images of different colors that are overlapped. 
   The tandem method can form the full color image without registration error of each of the colors (for example, black, yellow, magenta and cyan) if the rotational speeds of the plurality of photoconductive drums are all constant. However, since the plurality of photoconductive drums are controlled independently, it is difficult to perfectly match the rotational speeds of the plurality of photoconductive drums. 
   In other words, in the case of the tandem method, even if a target rotational speed is set with respect to each of the plurality of photoconductive drums, each photoconductive drum undergoes a fluctuation in its rotational speed that is peculiar to each photoconductive drum, due to eccentricity of a drum shaft and mounting error of a driving part and the photoconductive drum itself. As a result, the registration error in which the overlapping toner images of the different colors do not match on the transfer member is caused by the fluctuations in the rotational speeds of the plurality of photoconductive drums. 
     FIG. 1  is a system block diagram showing an example of a drive control unit for the photoconductive drums. The drive control unit shown in  FIG. 1  includes drive control systems for each of the colors, which are black, yellow, magenta and cyan in this particular case. The drive control system for black includes a control part  1 K, a motor  2 K, a photoconductive drum  3 K and an encoder  4 K. 
   The motor  2 K is coupled to the photoconductive drum  3 K via a driving shaft and drives the photoconductive drum  3 K. The encoder  4 K detects the actual rotational speed of the motor  2 K. In addition, the control part  1 K controls the rotational speed of the motor  2 K depending on a difference between a target rotational speed which is a constant value and the actual rotational speed that is fed back from the encoder  4 K. 
   The drive control system for yellow includes a control part  1 Y, a motor  2 Y, a photoconductive drum  3 Y and an encoder  4 Y. The drive control system for magenta includes a control part  1 M, a motor  2 M, a photoconductive drum  3 M and an encoder  4 M. The drive control system for cyan includes a control part  1 C, a motor  2 C, a photoconductive drum  3 C and an encoder  4 C. The drive control systems for yellow, magenta and cyan operate similarly to the drive control system for black described above. 
   However, even though the drive control unit having the structure shown in  FIG. 1  controls the rotational speed of the motor  2 K depending on the difference between the constant target rotational speed and the actual rotational speed that are fed back from the encoder  4 K, the photoconductive drum  3 K undergoes a fluctuation in its rotational speed that is peculiar to the photoconductive drum  3 K, due to the eccentricity of the drum shaft and the mounting error of the driving part and the photoconductive drum  3 K itself. As a result, the registration error in which the overlapping toner images of the different colors do not match on the transfer member is caused by the fluctuations in the rotational speed of the photoconductive drum  3 K. 
   In addition, in the drive control systems for yellow, magenta and cyan, the registration error is generated similarly to the drive control system for black. In other words, the rotational speeds for one revolution of the photoconductive drums  3 K,  3 Y,  3 M and  3 C fluctuate as shown in  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 2  is a graph showing the actual speed fluctuations for one revolution of the photoconductive drums  3 K,  3 Y,  3 M and  3 C, wherein v denotes the rotational speed in arbitrary units and t denotes the time in arbitrary units. In the following description, the fluctuation of the rotational speed for one revolution of each of the photoconductive drums  3 K,  3 Y,  3 M and  3 C will be referred to as a speed fluctuation profile. 
   A Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-72816 proposes a process of controlling the rotational speed of each photoconductive drum to approach the target rotational speed, by detecting the actual speed fluctuation profile of each photoconductive drum and adding data having an inverted phase (that is, a phase shifted by 180 degrees) with respect to the speed fluctuation profile, so as to correct the rotational speed of each photoconductive drum. 
   However, according to the process proposed in the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-72816, the rotational speeds of the plurality of photoconductive drums are independently controlled, similarly to the conventional method. For this reason, even if the rotational speeds of the photoconductive drums are controlled to approximate the target rotational speed, it is difficult to completely eliminate the fluctuation in the rotational speeds of the photoconductive drums and to perfectly match the rotational speeds of each of the photoconductive drums. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a novel and useful drive control unit, drive control method and image forming apparatus, in which the problems described above are suppressed. 
   Another and more specific object of the present invention is to provide a drive control unit, a drive control method and an image forming apparatus, which can reduce the registration error of the color image that is formed. 
   Still another object of the present invention is to provide a drive control unit for controlling speeds of a plurality of driving parts based on a target speed, comprising a detecting part configured to detect speed fluctuations of each of the driving parts when the speeds of the driving parts are controlled based on a common target speed; a storage part configured to store speed fluctuation profiles of each of the driving parts created based on the detected speed fluctuations; an extracting part configured to extract a speed fluctuation profile having a largest amplitude of the speed fluctuation profiles stores in the storage part; a calculating part configured to calculate difference profiles of the driving parts, corresponding to differences between the extracted speed fluctuation profile and the speed fluctuation profiles of each of the driving parts; a setting part configured to set the difference profiles of the driving parts as new target speeds of the driving parts; and a control part configured to control the speeds of the driving parts based on the new target speeds. According to the drive control unit of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the registration error of the color image that is formed. 
   A further object of the present invention is to provide a drive control method for controlling speeds of a plurality of driving parts of an image forming apparatus based on a target speed, comprising detecting speed fluctuations of each of the driving parts when the speeds of the driving parts are controlled based on a common target speed; extracting a speed fluctuation profile having a largest amplitude from speed fluctuation profiles of each of the driving parts created based on the detected speed fluctuations; calculating difference profiles of the driving parts, corresponding to differences between the extracted speed fluctuation profile and the speed fluctuation profiles of each of the driving parts; and setting the difference profiles of the driving parts as new target speeds of the driving parts, and controlling the speeds of the driving parts based on the new target speeds. According to the drive control method of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the registration error of the color image that is formed. 
   Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus which forms toner images on a plurality of photoconductive drums and directly or indirectly transfers the toner images onto a recording medium to form a full color image thereon, comprising a plurality of driving parts configured to independently control rotational speeds of corresponding photoconductive drums; and a drive control unit configured to control speeds of the plurality of driving parts based on a target speed, wherein the drive control unit comprises a detecting part configured to detect speed fluctuations of each of the driving parts when the speeds of the driving parts are controlled based on a common target speed; a storage part configured to store speed fluctuation profiles of each of the driving parts created based on the detected speed fluctuations; an extracting part configured to extract a speed fluctuation profile having a largest amplitude of the speed fluctuation profiles stores in the storage part; a calculating part configured to calculate difference profiles of the driving parts, corresponding to differences between the extracted speed fluctuation profile and the speed fluctuation profiles of each of the driving parts; a setting part configured to set the difference profiles of the driving parts as new target speeds of the driving parts; and a control part configured to control the speeds of the driving parts based on the new target speeds. According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the registration error of the color image that is formed. 
   Other objects and further features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a system block diagram showing an example of a drive control unit for photoconductive drums; 
       FIG. 2  is a graph showing actual speed fluctuations for one revolution of the photoconductive drums; 
       FIG. 3  is a diagram showing a general structure of an image forming apparatus; 
       FIG. 4  is a diagram generally showing a driving mechanism for the photoconductive drums; 
       FIG. 5  is a system block diagram showing an embodiment of a drive control unit according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 6  is a flow chart for explaining an operation of the drive control unit; 
       FIG. 7  is a diagram for explaining the calculation of a black difference profile and the setting of a new target rotational speed; 
       FIG. 8  is a diagram for explaining the calculation of a yellow difference profile and the setting of the new target rotational speed; 
       FIG. 9  is a diagram for explaining the calculation of a magenta difference profile and the setting of the new target rotational speed; 
       FIG. 10  is a diagram for explaining the calculation of a cyan difference profile and the setting of the new target rotational speed; and 
       FIG. 11  is a system block diagram showing another embodiment of the drive control unit according to the present invention. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   A description will be given of embodiments of a drive control unit, a drive control method and an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, by referring to  FIG. 3  and the subsequent figures. 
     FIG. 3  is a diagram showing a general structure of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus shown in  FIG. 3  has image forming parts  401 Y,  401 M,  401 C and  401 K for forming yellow, magenta, cyan and black images, respectively. The image forming parts  401 Y,  401 M,  401 C and  401 K are arranged in line along a transport belt  411  which transports a transfer member  410  which may be a sheet of paper or a suitable recording medium. The transport belt  411  is supported by a driving roller  412  which drives and revolves the transport belt  411 , and a following roller  412  which follows the revolving the transport belt  411 . The transport belt  411  is driven to revolve in a direction indicated by an arrow in  FIG. 3  by the rotation of the driving roller  412 . 
   A paper supply tray  414  which accommodates the transfer members  410  is provided under the transport belt  411 . When forming an image, the transfer members  410  accommodated within the paper supply tray  414  are fed starting from the top transfer member  410 . The fed transfer member  410  is adhered on the transport belt  411  by electrostatic adhesion, and is transported to the yellow image forming part  401 Y where the yellow image is formed. 
   The yellow image forming part  401 Y includes a photoconductive drum  402 Y, a charger  403 Y provided in a periphery of the photoconductive drum  402 Y, a developing unit  405 Y, a photoconductive body cleaner  406 Y, a transfer unit  407 Y, and an exposure unit  408  which irradiates laser modulated light  409 Y corresponding to the yellow image. 
   In the yellow image forming part  401 Y, the surface of the photoconductive drum  402 Y is uniformly charged by the charger  403 Y, and the charged surface is then exposed by the laser modulated light  409 Y of the exposure unit  408 , corresponding to the yellow image, so as to form an electrostatic latent image. The electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing unit  405 Y, so as to form a yellow toner image on the surface of the photoconductive drum  402 Y. The yellow toner image is transferred onto the transfer member  410  by the transfer unit  407 Y, at a transfer position where the photoconductive drum  402 Y and the transfer member  410  on the transport belt  411  make contact, to thereby form a single color image, that is, the yellow image, on the transfer member  410 . After the yellow image is transferred onto the transfer member  410 , the residual toner on the surface of the photoconductive drum  402 Y is cleaned by the photoconductive drum cleaner  406 Y, so as to prepare for the next image formation in yellow. 
   The transfer member  410  bearing the yellow image transferred thereon in the yellow image forming part  401 Y is transported to the magenta image forming part  401 M by the transport belt  411 . The magenta image forming part  401 M transfers a magenta toner image that is formed on the surface of the photoconductive drum  402 M onto the transfer member  410 , similarly to the image formation in the yellow image forming part  401 Y, so as to overlap the yellow image. 
   The transfer member  410  is further transported to the cyan image forming part  401 C and the black image forming part  401 K in this sequence, so as to sequentially transfer a cyan toner image and a black toner image that are formed on the surfaces of the corresponding photoconductive drums  402 C and  402 K onto the transfer member  410 , similarly to the image formation in the yellow image forming part  401 Y, so as to overlap the yellow and magenta images. After the transfer member  410  passes the black image forming part  401 K, the transfer member  410  bearing the overlapping yellow, magenta, cyan and black images, that is, a full color image, is separated from the transport belt  411  and supplied to a fixing unit  415 . The fixing unit  415  fixes the full color image on the transfer member  410 , and the transfer member  410  is thereafter ejected from the image forming apparatus. 
   The image forming apparatus shown in  FIG. 3  directly transfers the toner images from the photoconductive drums  402 Y,  402 M,  402 C and  402 K onto the transfer member  410 . However, it is of course possible to form the color image on an intermediate transfer body such as an intermediate transfer belt, and thereafter transfer the color image on the intermediate transfer body onto the transfer member  410  in one operation. 
   In the image forming apparatus, the photoconductive drums  402 Y,  402 M,  402 C and  402 K are driven by corresponding motors (not shown). The fluctuations in the rotational speeds of the photoconductive drums  402 Y,  402 M,  402 C and  402 K, peculiar to the photoconductive drums  402 Y,  402 M,  402 C and  402 K, are eliminated by drive control systems for each of the colors yellow, magenta, cyan and black, as will be described later. 
     FIG. 4  is a diagram generally showing a driving mechanism for the photoconductive drums. As shown in  FIG. 4 , driving shafts  505  through  508  are provided to drive and rotate the photoconductive drums  402 Y,  402 M,  402 C and  402 K. In addition, brushless motors  509  through  512  are provided to drive and rotate the driving shafts  505  through  508  of the photoconductive drums  402 Y,  402 M,  402 C and  402 K. The rotational speeds of the brushless motors  509  through  512  are detected by corresponding encoders  513  through  516  that are provided on corresponding motor shafts of the brushless motors  509  through  512 . 
     FIG. 5  is a system block diagram showing an embodiment of the drive control unit according to the present invention. The drive control unit shown in  FIG. 5  includes a black drive control system  10 K, a yellow drive control system  10 Y, a magenta drive control system  10 M, a cyan drive control system  10 C, a memory  11 , a maximum speed fluctuation profile extracting part  12 , a difference profile calculating part  13 , and a target speed setting part  14 . 
   The black drive control system  10 K, the yellow drive control system  10 Y, the magenta drive control system  10 M and the cyan drive control system  10 C have the structure shown in  FIG. 1 . The black drive control system  10 K includes a control part  1 K, a motor  2 K, a photoconductive drum  3 K and an encoder  4 K. The yellow drive control system  10 Y includes a control part  1 Y, a motor  2 Y, a photoconductive drum  3 Y and an encoder  4 Y. In addition, the magenta drive control system  10 M includes a control part  1 M, a motor  2 M, a photoconductive drum  3 M and an encoder  4 M, and the cyan drive control system  10 C includes a control part  1 C, a motor  2 C, a photoconductive drum  3 C and an encoder  4 C. 
   Next, a description will be given of an operation of the drive control unit shown in  FIG. 5 , by referring to  FIG. 6 .  FIG. 6  is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the drive control unit. In a step S 1 , the drive control unit stores in the memory  11  a speed fluctuation profile for each of the colors yellow, magenta, cyan and black for the case where the rotational speeds of the photoconductive drums  402 Y,  402 M,  402 C and  402 K are controlled based on a common target rotational speed which is set in common with respect to each of the photoconductive drums  402 Y,  402 M,  402 C and  402 K. 
   For example, the black drive control system  10 K detects the actual rotational speed of the motor  2 K for the case where the rotational speed of the motor  2 K is controlled by the control part  1 K based on the common target rotational speed which is a constant value, and stores the fluctuation in the rotational speed of the motor  2 K for one revolution of the photoconductive drum  3 K in the memory  11  as the speed fluctuation profile. 
   Similarly, the yellow drive control system  10 Y detects the actual rotational speed of the motor  2 Y for the case where the rotational speed of the motor  2 Y is controlled by the control part  1 Y based on the common target rotational speed which is a constant value, and stores the fluctuation in the rotational speed of the motor  2 Y for one revolution of the photoconductive drum  3 Y in the memory  11  as the speed fluctuation profile. The magenta drive control system  10 M and the cyan drive control system  10 C store the speed fluctuation profiles for the photoconductive drums  3 M and  3 Y in the memory  11 , similarly to the black drive control system  10 K and the yellow drive control system  10 Y. 
   In a step S 2 , the maximum speed fluctuation profile extracting part  12  reads the speed fluctuation profiles of each of the yellow, magenta, cyan and black colors from the memory  11 , and extracts the speed fluctuation profile having a largest amplitude. For example, in a case where the actual rotational speeds of the motors  2 K,  2 Y,  2 M and  2 C become as shown in  FIG. 2  when the control parts  1 K,  1 Y,  2 M and  1 C control the rotational speeds of the motors  2 K,  2 Y,  2 M and  2 C based on the common target rotational speed which is a constant value, the speed fluctuation profile for magenta is extracted as the speed fluctuation profile having the largest amplitude. The maximum speed fluctuation profile extracting part  12  supplies the extracted speed fluctuation profile to the difference profile calculating part  13 . 
   In a step S 3 , the difference profile calculating part  13  reads the speed fluctuation profiles of each of the colors yellow, magenta, cyan and black, and calculates a difference profile between the speed fluctuation profile having the largest amplitude and supplied from the maximum speed fluctuation profile extracting part  12  and each of the speed fluctuation profiles of the colors yellow, magenta, cyan and black. 
   For example, the difference profile calculating part  13  subtracts each of the speed fluctuation profiles of the colors yellow, magenta, cyan and black stored in the memory  11  from the speed fluctuation profile having the largest amplitude and supplied from the maximum speed fluctuation profile extracting part  12 , so as to obtain the difference profiles for each of the colors yellow, magenta, cyan and black. 
     FIG. 7  is a diagram for explaining the calculation of a black difference profile and the setting of a new target rotational speed.  FIG. 8  is a diagram for explaining the calculation of a yellow difference profile and the setting of the new target rotational speed.  FIG. 9  is a diagram for explaining the calculation of a magenta difference profile and the setting of the new target rotational speed.  FIG. 10  is a diagram for explaining the calculation of a cyan difference profile and the setting of the new target rotational speed. 
     FIGS. 7 through 10  show the calculation of the difference profiles and the setting of the new target rotational speed for the case where the speed fluctuation profile for magenta is extracted as the speed fluctuation profile having the largest amplitude. In  FIG. 7 , the difference profile calculating part  13  subtracts a speed fluctuation profile  22  for black stored in the memory  11  from an extracted speed fluctuation profile  21  for magenta, so as to calculate a difference profile  23  for black. 
   In  FIG. 8 , the difference profile calculating part  13  subtracts a speed fluctuation profile  25  for yellow stored in the memory  11  from the extracted speed fluctuation profile  21  for magenta, so as to calculate a difference profile  26  for yellow. 
   In  FIG. 9 , the difference profile calculating part  13  subtracts a speed fluctuation profile  28  for magenta stored in the memory  11  from the extracted speed fluctuation profile  21  for magenta, so as to calculate a difference profile  29  for magenta. In this particular case, the extracted speed fluctuation profile  21  and the subtracted speed fluctuation profile  28  are the same. 
   In  FIG. 10 , the difference profile calculating part  13  subtracts a speed fluctuation profile  31  for cyan stored in the memory  11  from the extracted speed fluctuation profile  21  for magenta, so as to calculate a difference profile  32  for cyan. 
   The difference profile calculating part  13  supplies the calculated difference profiles  23 ,  26 ,  29  and  32  for the colors black, yellow, magenta and cyan to the target speed setting part  14 . Then, in a step S 4  shown in  FIG. 6 , the target speed setting part  14  sets the difference profiles  23 ,  26 ,  29  and  32  for the colors black, yellow, magenta and cyan, supplied from the difference profile calculating part  13 , as new target rotational speeds for the colors black, yellow, magenta and cyan. 
   In  FIG. 7 , the target speed setting part  14  sets the difference profile  23  for black as the new target rotational speed for the black drive control system  10 K. In  FIG. 8 , the target speed setting part  14  sets the difference profile  26  for yellow as the new target rotational speed for the yellow drive control system  10 Y. In  FIG. 9 , the target speed setting part  14  sets the difference profile  29  for magenta as the new target rotational speed for the magenta drive control system  10 M. In  FIG. 10 , the target speed setting part  14  sets the difference profile  32  for cyan as the new target rotational speed for the cyan drive control system  10 C. 
   In the case shown in  FIGS. 7 through 10 , the drive control unit sets the difference profiles  23 ,  26 ,  29  and  32  for the colors black, yellow, magenta and cyan as the new target rotational speeds for the black, yellow, magenta and cyan drive control systems  10 K,  10 Y,  10 M and  10 C, so as to include in the rotational speeds of the photoconductive drums  3 K,  3 Y and  3 C for the colors other than magenta the same fluctuation in the rotational speed as the photoconductive drum  3 M for magenta. As a result, the fluctuations in the rotational speeds of the photoconductive drums  3 K,  3 Y and  3 C become larger when compared to the conventional case, but under a condition where the distance between two mutually adjacent photoconductive drums is equal to the circumference of the photoconductive drum and the moving speed of the transport belt (including the intermediate transfer belt in the case of the image forming apparatus having the intermediate transfer belt) is equal to the rotational speed at the outer periphery of the photoconductive drum, the relative speed of the photoconductive drum at the transfer position for each color becomes zero with respect to the transport belt. Therefore, the effects of the fluctuations in the rotational speeds of the photoconductive drums will not appear as the registration error in the full color image that is finally formed on the transfer member. 
   In order to carry out the control by the drive control unit of the present invention, it is necessary to once control the rotational speed of the photoconductive drums for each of the colors to the common target rotational speed which is a constant value. Such a control by the drive control unit may be carried out at timings including when the power is supplied to the image forming apparatus, when a paper jam is generated and the like. When the control is carried out by the drive control unit at such timings, the data related to the fluctuation in the rotational speed of each of the photoconductive drums may be stored in a recording medium such as the memory  11 . 
     FIG. 11  is a system block diagram showing another embodiment of the drive control unit according to the present invention. In  FIG. 11 , those parts which are the same as those corresponding parts in  FIGS. 7 through 10  are designated by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted. In the drive control unit which compares the target rotational speed and the actual rotational speed output from the encoder based on a PLL (Phase Locked Loop) control or PID (Proportional Integral Differential) control, the means for matching the rotational speeds of the photoconductive drums of each of the colors to the rotational speed of the photoconductive drum having the largest fluctuation in the rotational speed may be realized by a gain correction of a correction value detecting part  50  for detecting correction values for the gains of the control parts  1 K,  1 Y,  1 M and  1 C. 
   According to the drive control unit of the present invention, the speed fluctuation profile of each photoconductive drum corresponding to the fluctuation in the rotational speed for one revolution of each photoconductive drum is detected. Of the detected speed fluctuation profiles, the speed fluctuation profile of the photoconductive drum having the largest fluctuation in the rotational speed is extracted, and the rotational speeds of the other photoconductive drums are controlled so as to match the extracted speed fluctuation profile. Hence, it is possible to eliminate, in a relative manner and using a relatively simply structure, the speed fluctuation components among the plurality of photoconductive drums. As a result, the drive control unit of the present invention can match the rotational speeds of the plurality of photoconductive drums, and reduce the registration error of the full color image that is finally formed on the transfer member by the plurality of photoconductive drums. 
   In addition, according to the drive control unit of the present invention, if the image forming apparatus is used for a long period of time and the constituent elements of the image forming apparatus deteriorate due to aging, the speed fluctuation profiles of the photoconductive drums are matched to the speed fluctuation profile of the photoconductive drum having the largest speed fluctuation. For this reason, the registration error will not be generated even if the so-called banding occurs. The banding refers to a band-shaped tone inconsistency that appears in a halftone portion of the image. The banding occurs when the pitch of the halftone dots changes due to the fluctuation in the speed of the mechanical system, for example, and often occurs in the case of the image forming apparatus employing the spot exposure scan system. 
   This application claims the benefit of a Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-248009 filed Aug. 29, 2005, in the Japanese Patent Office, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
   Further, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, but various variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.