Abstract:
A human body sail assembly including a rotatable mast with upper and lower horizontal sail braces or booms that swing with the mast. The sail is tensioned by the braces and can be locked in a desired angular position by user-operated frusto-conical mating gearing coaxial with the mast. The braces can separate from the mast for safety if the user falls, and the sail can be collapsed in a compact envelope by swinging the braces toward one another adjacent the skater&#39;s back. The braces are identical and removably mounted in pivot assemblies carried by the mast so different length braces can be used with the same pivot assemblies. The pivot assemblies are defined by a large disc member carried by the mast and a brace socket with spaced circular plates indexably engaging the sides of the disc.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a Continuation-in-Part of my U.S. Ser. No. 09/164,521, Filed: Sep. 30, 1998, entitled “IMPROVED BODY MOUNTED SAIL ASSEMBLY” U.S. Pat. No. 6,099,041. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     While the present human body sail assembly is intended for use with in-line roller skates, it certainly has other uses, and the prior art of body sails exemplifies body sails with alternative intended applications, and these prior devices are typified in the following United States and foreign patents: 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
             
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Invention 
                 Patent No. 
                 Issue Date 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 UNITED STATES PATENTS 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Hardt 
                 2,018,062 
                 October 22, 1935 
               
               
                   
                 Goldberg 
                 3,768,823 
                 October 30, 1973 
               
               
                   
                 Alexander 
                 4,738,460 
                 April 19, 1988 
               
               
                   
                 Boyden 
                 5,120,070 
                 June 9, 1992 
               
             
          
           
               
                 FOREIGN PATENTS 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 M. Hespel 
                 French Patent No. 1,499,954 
                 Sept. 25, 1967 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     The Alexander, U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,460, shows a rather complex body sail mechanism for a bicycle rider in which the angle of the back mounted sail is controlled by one of the bicyclist&#39;s hands on operating lever 32. In this mechanism it is difficult for the operator to hold the sail in any particular angular position with respect to the body. 
     In Alexander, the sail pivots generally vertically about the axis defined by pins 20, 22, and the arms 46 are driven by gears 44 which extend and retract the sail as the arms move from a vertical position to a horizontal position and then back again. 
     Alexander&#39;s system also includes a tube for reefing the mainsail, as well as a ratchet mechanism shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 that lock the sail in a predetermined reefed position. 
     It does not have any ratchet mechanism that controls movement of the entire sail about the axis defined by pins  20 ,  22 , which is the location of the present ratchet mechanism. 
     The Boyden, U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,070, also shows a ratchet-type mechanism through the mainsail illustrated in FIG. 5 of his drawings, but the ratchet mechanism does not act directly on the mast and instead operates by holding main sheet 9 in position, which of course is nothing more than a sheet commonly found on sailboats. 
     The Goldberg, U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,823, shows a body-held sail for use by an ice skater, but it is not physically attached to the human body and only held by the user&#39;s shoulders and hands. It is somewhat relevant in that it shows a mechanism for stretching the body sail, but stretching is effected by pulling ribs 14 a  and 16 apart rather than by tensioning the ribs with a sail embedded line in a manner similar to the stringing motion in a recurve bow. 
     The French Brevet D&#39;Invention No. 1,499,954, Delivre Sep. 25, 1967, discloses a body sail for a roller skater. The sail assembly swings by hand-held arms 39 and 40, and there does not appear to be any mechanical vertical pivot axis. The sail does include what appears to be lines along its upper periphery at 48 and 49 but does not clearly exert a tensioning force on ribs 43 and 46. 
     The Hardt, U.S. Pat. No. 2,018,062, discloses a body sail for a skater with particular emphasis on a mechanism for extending the sail by pivoting arms 9 outwardly from a vertically downward hanging collapsed position. The patent does not appear to be particularly pertinent otherwise. 
     In my U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,603, issued Feb. 3, 1998, I describe and claim a human body mounted sail assembly that includes a rotatable mast with upper and lower horizontal braces that swing with the mast. The sail is held taut by these braces which are placed in tension by the sail and a bow-like string at the sail leech. The mast, braces and sail assembly can be locked in any desired angular position relative to the human back by a pawl and ratchet mechanism on the base of the mast. The sail is collapsible using push-button quick release pivots at the inner ends of both the upper and lower braces. 
     While my prior design operates well and in fact is similar in basic design principles to my new, improved design described herein, it is a primary object of the present invention to improve the safety of my prior sail assembly, to reduce the manufacturing costs thereof, and to provide a much simpler sail assembly that is easier to manufacture and far simpler for the user to replace parts without the need for special tools or service centers. 
     It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to ameliorate the problems noted above in a human body mounted sail assembly and to provide one that is easier for the user to assemble and operate, one which collapses into a smaller envelope, and one that has enhanced safety features. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, an improved human body mounted sail assembly is provided including a flexible back contoured elastomeric base strapped to the user&#39;s back. Vertically spaced plastic mast pivot brackets are fixed to the base and rotatably support the mast, which includes a telescopic assembly designed to extend and contract with flexure of the sailor&#39;s back. A pair of booms or sail braces are pivoted to the ends of the mast to permit the sail to be collapsed. These sail braces are clamshelled to the mast in a way that permits the braces to disconnect for safety when the sailor falls, impacting the braces with sufficient force. The sail can be locked in any desired angular position by user operated interengaging frusto-conical gearing on the lower base bracket and the lower sail brace that automatically releases upon sufficient collision force. The mast assembly, the braces, and other parts are molded with high glass filled plastics to enhance the high strength and bendability of these parts for safety as well as durability. 
     All parts in the assembly are user replaceable to eliminate the need for either service centers or “ship in” manufacturer-provided service. 
     The assembly can be manufactured in multiple sizes for different torso sizes with changes only in the size of the mast, base and sail. 
     Also according to the present invention, the sail braces are removably mounted in pivot assemblies carried by the upper and lower ends of the mast. This enables the braces to be replaced or repaired, or the manufacturer can utilize different length braces; for example, 2 feet, 2½ feet, and 3 feet, to accommodate different size sails that in effect change the entire sail assembly to have a plurality of models to satisfy different user requirements. 
     Also, the upper and lower braces are identical extrusions to reduce costs and are “S” shaped in configuration with the upper brace being rotated about its axis 180 degrees from the lower brace to accommodate the narrower sail luff. 
     A further object of the present invention is the provision of brace pivot assemblies on the mast which have a heavier duty construction than in my U.S. Ser. No. 09/164,521. Toward this end, the mast carried portion of the pivot assembly is a large disc-like member with a central spheroidal member and a plurality of radial indexing bars. A socket member, which removably carries the brace, has spaced walls that engage the opposite sides of the disc member and have 180 degrees of contact therewith to increase the structural integrity of the pivot assembly while at the same time permitting the socket member to disengage from the disc upon a sufficient impact force. 
     Finally, the roach of the sail is provided with a bow-like string with eyelets that are cinched to the sail braces with elastomeric rings that prevent the eyelets and bow string from falling off the braces when the sail is collapsed. 
     While in the exemplary embodiment, there are provided two sail assemblies; i.e., two masts and two sails, it should be understood that the principles of the present invention apply to a single sail assembly. Other objects and advantages will appear more clearly from the following detailed description. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of the human form with a present human body mounted sail assembly carried thereby; 
     FIG. 1 a  is an enlarged telescopic view of the interconnection between the sail bow string and the lower sail brace; 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded side view of the sail assembly illustrated in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the present human body mounted sail assembly with the sails removed; 
     FIG. 4 is a cross section through the back mounted base taken generally along line  4 — 4  of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a vertical section through the back brace taken generally along line  5 — 5  of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 6 is a side view, with the sail braces fragmented of the mast brackets, mast assembly, and clamshell pivot assemblies; 
     FIG. 7 is a partly fragmented view of the lower sail brace clamshell and frusto-conical gearing assembly; 
     FIG. 8 is a fragmented vertical section of the central portion of the mast assembly; 
     FIG. 9 is an inner side view of one of the clamshell plates illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 7; 
     FIG. 10 is a longitudinal section through the clamshell plate taken generally along line  10 — 10  of FIG. 9; 
     FIG. 11 is a cross section taken centrally through one of the clamshell plates showing the internal ball joint, and; 
     FIG. 12 is a side view of a human form with the present human body mounted sail assembly in its collapsed position. 
     FIG. 13 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present human body mounted sail assembly; 
     FIG. 14 is a fragmented side view of the body mounted sail assembly shown in FIG. 13; 
     FIG. 15 is a fragmented side view of the lower mast carried pivot assembly; 
     FIG. 16 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the socket member shown in the pivot assembly of FIG. 15; 
     FIG. 17 is a longitudinal section through the socket member taken generally along line  17 — 17  of FIG. 16; 
     FIG. 18 is a longitudinal section through the pivot axis of one of the pivot assemblies; 
     FIG. 19 is a fragmentary longitudinal section illustrating the connection between the proximal end of the braces and the sockets; 
     FIG. 20 is a cross-section taken generally along line  20 — 20  showing the interconnecting elements between the braces and the sockets; 
     FIG. 21 is an exploded view of a mast assembly and braces similar to the one shown in FIGS. 1 to  12  including a modified sail design; 
     FIG. 22 is an enlarged fragmented section showing pockets in the sail shown in FIG. 21 for the ends of the braces; 
     FIG. 23 is an exploded view of a modified base and central sail portion; 
     FIG. 24 is a fragmented side view of modified upper and lower mast brackets; 
     FIG. 25 is a side view of further modified upper and lower mast brackets, and; 
     FIG. 26 is an enlarged cross-section of the upper mast bracket shown in FIG. 25 taken generally along line  26 — 26 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to the drawings and particularly FIGS. 1 to  7 , the present body mounted sail assembly is designated generally by the reference numeral  10 , and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 12, is attached to the back of a skater  11  by an upper strap assembly  12  threaded through upper slots  13  in a base  14  and a lower strap arrangement  16  threaded through lower slots  17  in base  14 . 
     The sail assembly  10  is seen to generally include the base  14 , base mounted bracket assemblies  19  and  20 , a rotatable mast assembly  21 , an upper sail brace or boom  23  attached to the upper end of the mast by a clamshell pivot assembly  24  and a lower sail brace  26  pivotally connected to the lower end of the mast assembly  21  by a lower clamshell pivot assembly  28 , a frusto-conical gearing assembly  30  for locking the braces  23  and  24  in a fixed vertical plane, and a sail assembly  32 . 
     It should be understood that the above description relates to the right sail assembly illustrated in the drawings and that the left sail assembly, unnumbered, is identical to the sail assembly described herein. 
     As seen in FIGS. 3,  4  and  5 , the base  14  is a flexible molded elastomeric one-piece member that is sufficiently flexible so that it can bend and flex as the skater twists and bends his or her back. 
     The base brackets  19  and  20  are identical and as seen in FIGS. 3 and 7, include a flat back plate  32  having an integral boss  33  projecting outwardly therefrom. An arcuate bracket  34  is fixed to the boss  33  and forms a bearing for lower mast section  36 . Also, the bracket  20  has a lower boss  38  with a bore  37  therein that rotatably receives the lower end of mast section  36 , and the bracket  19  has an identical bore. 
     The lower clamshell assembly  28  includes a one-piece bracket that includes an upper sleeve  40  and a lower sleeve  41  with outwardly extending flanges  42  and  43 . The annular sleeves  40  and  41  are glued to the lower mast section  36  and are rotatably mounted in semi-annular recesses  46  and  47  in the bracket  20 . 
     The clamshell assembly  28  includes a pair of mirror image side plates  50  and  51 , that as seen in FIG. 9, include a circular portion  51   a  with a pair of outwardly extending tabs  52  and  53  that are fastened to the sides of the flanges  42  and  43 , as seen in FIGS. 3 and 7. 
     The side plates  50  have a spheroidal recess  55  that receives a ball joint  56  that has a central annular portion  57  and spheroidal ends  58  mounted in the spheroidal recesses  55 . The ball joint  57  forms the pivot for the semi-annular plate portion  60  of the lower sail support  26 , as seen clearly in FIGS. 11 and 12. 
     As seen in FIG. 11, both opposite sides of the semi-circular plate portion  60  have a plurality of radial grooves  61  integrally molded therewith that engage with complementary ribs  63  in the inside surfaces of the clamshell plates  50  and  51  to lock the sail brace  26  in its tensioned position, tensioning sail assembly  32 , and also permit the sail support arms to be ratcheted to its collapsed position illustrated in FIG.  12 . 
     Because the clamshell plates  50  and  51  are fixed together at the mast side of the plates, and because the plates  50  and  51  are constructed of plastic, they are sufficiently flexible so that upon sufficient impacting force upon the sail brace  26 , the plates  50  and  51  will separate sufficiently so that the sail brace  26  can separate from the clamshell plates  50  and  51 . 
     It should be understood, however, that because of this flexibility, after falling or impacting the sail brace with its subsequent separation, the user can easily reassemble the sail brace to the clamshell plates  50  and  51  and continue on the sailing journey. 
     It should also be understood that the upper clamshell assembly  24  and the mast connection are identical to that described with respect to the lower clamshell assembly  28  with the exception of the sail locking mechanism  30  so that a detailed description is unnecessary. 
     Also, pin  59  limits upward rotation of brace  23 , so as not to allow sail  32  to block the visibility of the skater. 
     As seen more clearly in FIG. 7, the frusto-conical angular sail locking mechanism  30  is seen to include a frusto-conical gear  66  integrally molded in the lower end  38  of the one-piece lower bracket  20 . A pivotal operating arm  67  has a complementary frusto-conical gear  68  integrally molded therewith that when engaged into the gear  66  locks the lower clamshell assembly  28  and the lower sail bracket  26  in a fixed angular position. The operator  67  is pivotally mounted to the clamshell plates  50  and  51  by a pin  70 , and a spring  71  seated in a seat  72  in the plates  50  and  51  biases the operator  67  in a direction to engage the gears  66  and  68 . 
     The operator  67  has a handle portion  73  that is in the same plane as the lower clamshell assembly and in a position to be easily operated by the skater&#39;s hand. 
     The teeth on the gears  66  and  68  are curved in cross section, and because of this and the fact that the gearing is frusto-conical in design, the mast as well as the sails and the clamshell assemblies, are permitted to pivot about the axis of the mast upon collision because the gearing  66  and  68  will separate upon sufficient lateral force applied to the supports  23  and  26 , permitting relative rotation between gears  66  and  68 . 
     As seen in FIG. 8, the mast assembly includes an upper section  75 , the lower section  36 , and an intermediate section  76 . The upper and lower sections  75  and  36  have internal splines and the central section  76  has external splines, mating with the splines on the upper and lower section, and this design enables the mast assembly to extend and contract with flexure of the flexible base  14  as the skater twists and bends. 
     As seen in FIGS. 1,  1   a  and  2 , sail assembly  32  has a pocket  80  at its left portion  81  that sleeves around mast assembly  21 , has a top pocket  83  received on upper sail brace  23 , and a foot pocket  84  received on lower brace  26 . 
     Sail assembly  32  also has a leech pocket  85  that receives a bow-like string  86  with eyelets  87  at both ends that fit over a ball  88  on the ends of the upper and lower sail braces  23  and  26 . As seen in FIG. 1 a , the outer ends of the sail braces  23  and  26  are rectangular in configuration and have outwardly tapered ends  89  adjacent the balls  88  providing a reduced and narrow portion  90  into which the eyelets  87  fit. 
     A small elastomeric ring  91  is fitted over the bow-like string  86  at each end thereof and it is fitted quite tightly there-around so that the user can cinch the eyelet  87  closely around the narrow portion  90 . This prevents the eyelets from falling off the balls  88  when the sail is in its collapsed and untensioned position illustrated in FIG. 12, or in any untensioned position of the sail support arms  23  and  26 . 
     As seen in FIG. 12, the sail assembly is manipulated to its collapsed position by rotating and ratcheting the lower sail brace  26  upwardly, and the upper sail brace  23  downwardly closely adjacent the user&#39;s back and the interengaging grooves  61  and ribs  63  hold the brace arms in these collapsed positions. 
     As seen in FIG. 3, a plastic hook  95  is fixed to the upper portion of the base  14  midway between the masts  21  so the skater can carry articles such as a backpack, water bottle or clothing, freeing the skater&#39;s hands and arms for skating and sailing manipulations. 
     In FIGS. 13 to  18 , a second embodiment of my body mounted sail assembly is illustrated designated generally by the reference numeral  110 , and is seen to include generally a base  114 , identical left and right sail assemblies  116  and  118 , and a central mounted backpack hook  119 . Since the sail assemblies  116  and  118  are identical, the following detailed description will be limited to sail assembly  118 , which includes an upper base mounted bracket  120 , and an identical lower base mounted bracket  121 , an upper pivot assembly  123 , an identical lower pivot assembly  124 , an upper extruded sail brace  126 , and a lower identical extruded sail brace  128 , carrying tensioning sail  130 . 
     The base  114  is similar in construction and flexibility to the base  14  described with respect to the FIGS. 1 to  12  embodiment. 
     As noted above, the upper and lower brackets  120  and  121  are identical and include a plate portion  131 , as seen in FIG. 15, and a central boss  132 , having a semi-annular recess for receiving mast section  144 . A removable clamping plate  134  clamshells the mast against the semi-annular boss  132 . A lower annular boss  136  is provided integral with the bracket and it has a toothed frusto-conical recess  137  for receiving the external frusto-conical gear teeth  138  integrally formed on one end of sail locking arm  140 , which forms part of sail locking mechanism  141 . 
     Mast assembly  142  shown in FIG. 14, includes an upper portion  143  clamshelled in upper bracket  120 , a lower section  144  clamshelled in lower bracket  121 , and a central splined section  145  telescopically received in the upper section  143  and the lower section  144  to accommodate body flexing and different sized bases  114 . 
     The upper and lower pivot assemblies  123  and  124  are identical except that only the lower pivot assembly carries the sail lock operating arm  140 . 
     As seen in FIG. 15, the pivot assemblies include a circular vertically oriented disc member  148 , having a central bore with a spheroidal member  150  positioned therein and shown more clearly in FIG. 18, with a plurality of radial ribs  152  integral therein to provide the necessary ratcheting indexing motion for sail tensioning and collapsing, and a pair of integral spaced annular bosses  154  and  155  that receive and are fixed to a mast section  144 . 
     The pivot assembly  124  (as well as pivot assembly  123 ) includes a socket member  159  that removably receives the brace or boom  128 . Socket member  159  has an outwardly tapered socket portion  160  that has a proximal end  161  with a diameter about three times the diameter of the brace  128  to provide added structural integrity to the pivot assembly  124 . 
     The socket member  159  has spaced side walls  162  and  163  connected by annular rim wall portions  165  and  166 , shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 for added strength. The side walls  162  and  163  have semi-spheroidal recesses  168  that receives spheroidal member  150  for pivotally mounting the socket member  159  on the disc member  148 , while at the same time permitting disengagement between these two parts upon sufficient impact force. Each of the plates or walls  162  and  163  have radially positioned recesses or grooves  171  for receiving the ribs  152  on the disc  148  to lock the socket in the desired angular position. As seen in FIG. 16, the side walls  162  and  163  extend  360  degrees about the axis of the spheroidal member  150 , and have  360  degrees of face contact with the disc member  148  to provide better structural integrity over the pivot assemblies shown and described above with respect to FIGS. 1 to  12 . 
     The disc  148  has a downwardly projecting flange  174  that has an integral spring seat boss  176  extending outwardly therefrom. The flange  174  has a bore  178  therein (see upper pivot assembly  123  in FIG. 14) for receiving a pin that pivotally mounts arm  140  to the disc  148 . The arm  140  has a pair of spaced mounting bosses  180  that receive a pin  181  extending through hole  178 . A spring  183 , seated in spring seat  176 , and another seat  185  in arm  140  rotates the arm  140  to its sail locking position. The sail locking mechanism  141  operates in the same manner as the locking mechanism in the FIGS. 1 to  12  embodiment. 
     Another distinguishing feature of the FIGS. 13 to  18  embodiment is the removability of the braces  126  and  128  from the pivot assemblies. This enables the manufacturer to have a variety of brace lengths to accommodate different-sized sails, and thus have different models for different users. It also enables the braces to be replaced at a low cost if damaged. 
     As seen in FIGS. 19 and 20, the socket member  159  has a bore  186  in its distal end, having a plurality of small integral axial grooves  187  therein and integral key slot  189 . The ends of the braces  126 ,  128  have a plurality of flexible axial teeth  190  thereon that lock in the small grooves  187  in the socket bore  186  that provide an extremely tight fit between the braces and the socket member without requiring special tools. The ends of the braces are also provided with an integral key  192  that fits in key slot  189  in the socket member  159  to properly angularly orient the braces in the bores  187 . 
     As seen in FIG. 19, a removable “C” clip  194  fits in a semi-circular slot  195  in socket  159  and a semi-annular groove  197  in the brace  128  to axially lock the brace in the socket bore  186 . 
     The braces  126  and  128  are identical and are generally “S” shaped in configuration to accommodate the sail shape, which is narrower at luff portion  198  than it is at roach  199 . The upper brace, of course, is rotated 180 degrees with respect to the lower brace  128 , and both are identical plastic extrusions that have a generally annular cross section. 
     FIG. 21 is a side view illustrating the mast assembly  21  and the upper and lower sail braces  23  and  26  similar to the FIGS. 1 to  12  embodiment with a modified sail  200 . Sail  200  eliminates the bow string  86  in the FIGS. 1 to  12  embodiment and has slots  201  and  202  therein for receiving the upper and lower braces  23  and  26 . This arrangement significantly reduces the cost of the overall assembly, but more importantly is much easier for the user to assemble. Sail  200  has a vertical seam illustrated at  205  to which a central sail portion  206  illustrated in FIG. 23 is attached. Central sail portion  206  is connected along edge  207  to the luff of the port side sail and is connected along edge  208  to the starboard sail at the luff  205  illustrated in FIG.  21 . The sail portion  206  eliminates the butterfly appearance of the two sail assemblies from the aft so that from this sight line, the two sails appear as one continuous sail. 
     The assembly in FIG. 23 includes a modified body attachable base  210  that has a backpack hook  211  mounted centrally near the top of the base  210 . Central sail portion  206  may have an aperture  212  therethrough to permit the backpack hook to extend therethrough. 
     FIG. 24 illustrates a modified upper mast bracket assembly  220  and a modified lower mast bracket assembly  221  for adjusting the angular orientation between base  210  and mast assembly  21 . The lower bracket assembly  221  includes a horizontal pivot  225  and the upper bracket assembly  220  includes a first horizontal pivot  226  and a second horizontal pivot  227  interconnected by an axially adjustable rod assembly  230 . Adjustable rod assembly  230  and the pivots  225 ,  226  and  227  enable the mast assembly  21  to be angularly adjustable relative the base  210  by the user so that the mast assembly  21  can remain, if desired, generally vertical while the user&#39;s back is bent forward in the skating position. This improves the sail efficiency by maintaining the mast generally vertical. 
     A further modified form of the upper and lower bracket assemblies to achieve the same end is illustrated in FIGS. 25 and 26 in a somewhat simpler fashion. In FIG. 25, an upper bracket assembly  230  spaces the upper end of the mast assembly  21  from the body base  210  and a lower shorter bracket assembly  231  spaces the lower end of the mast assembly  21  from the base  210 . Upper and lower bracket assemblies  230  and  231  are similar except for their length and include U-shaped channels  237  velcroed at  232  to the base and  233  to the mast, and lower bracket assembly  231  is velcroed at  234  to the base and at  235  to the mast. This is simply somewhat less costly than the pivot assemblies included in the upper and lower bracket assemblies  220  and  221  in the FIG. 24 embodiment.