DECK PLATE FOR REINFORCED CONCRETE STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURE
CONSTRUCTION METHOD THEREOF
Technical Field The present invention relates to a deck plate used for construction and civil structure and the like, in particular to a deck plate for reinforced concrete construction and civil structures in which arrangement of the reinforced bars are facilitated, attachment strength between the concrete provided can be obviously improved, and mass production in the factory as well as outstanding appearance can be accomplished.
Background Art In general, a reinforced concrete structure is a complex structure in which the concrete and the reinforced bar with different physical properties are employed as compression element and tensional element . The concrete structure is constructed through providing a form to define outer appearance of the concrete, arranging the reinforced bar within the form, injecting concrete into the form, completing the cure of the injected concrete, and removing the form from the cured concrete structure. Almost all the contemporary construction structures are made of such concrete structures.
In case of the reinforced concrete structures, especially, civil and construction structures, construction of the deck plate is generally performed by providing a cross beam on bridge piers and mounting scaffolds for the work on the beam, and then square timbering is arranged, plywood form is provided on the timbering, and concrete is
placed on the upper surface of the form.
In this instance, the form is fabricated by plywood, square timber and the like. Also, it is required to perform construction work in which arrangement of the reinforced bar and the like is carried out, and to perform disintegration work in which the form is disintegrated after the cure of the concrete, so that substantial period should be spent in completing the construction work.
Especially, such structure is easy in attaching the surface of the concrete to the form, so the form is disintegrated from the concrete after the curing of the concrete. However, as it is very difficult to do this, and when the form is separated from the cured concrete, the surface of the structure becomes poor to thereby requiring additional finish work for the surface.
Furthermore, it is difficult to recycle the form, because the form is fabricated of brittle materials having little endurance to result in damages of the form in the disintegration process. Accordingly, when the form is disintegrated, large volume of abolished materials will be produced.
Also, in case of the conventional art, it is necessary to provide, disintegrate, and transport the square timbering, and the plywood form, which is almost performed by field workers. Therefore, labor costs are excessively increased to reduce economical efficiency of the construction work, and the construction period becomes longer because separate scaffolding is previously to be performed to install timbering. In addition, safety accidents frequently occur because the construction is carried out at very high
position above the ground in case of civil and construction work site. As a result, it is required to install separate safety facilities.
Meanwhile, the construction work can be performed without using the form to solve problems described above. That is, as a part of the reinforced concrete structure, members such as deck plate D shown in FIGs. 1 to 3 are employed as they are, which have been used to form outer surface of the concrete. As shown in FIG. 3, the deck plate D is bent to be vertical or trapezoidal shape, and it is employed as upper plate of the construction and civil structure after concrete is placed on the deck plate.
As shown in FIG. 1, main reinforced bars T are mounted on a valley formed at the deck plate D with supported by a hoop-shaped reinforced bar. Then, a longitudinal reinforced bar L and a transversal reinforced bar S which constitute reinforced bar net W are arranged successively by binding. They can be arranged to support each other by a spacer S2, or as shown in FIG. 2, they can be constructed by welding the reinforced bar net W as lattice shapes. Main reinforced bar T is configured to suspend from the reinforced bar net W by means of the spacer S2, and the reinforced bar net W is arranged to be supported on the deck plate D by the spacer S2 and the like.
However, such a method of using the deck plate D is only distinguished from the conventional art by the fact that form is not required. As the upper surface of the deck plate D is smooth, it is necessary to place separate predetermined reinforced bar to make it attached to the concrete. As a result, as such reinforced bar placing
process is not distinguished from the general process, problems such as the construction workability and the economical efficiency are still existed to be solved in advance. Accordingly, there is a urgent need to develop a deck plate which can eliminate the necessity of placement and disintegration of the form-work, and the timbering and the like in the construction process, and wherein it is possible to arrange reinforced bars simply and secure sufficient adhesion forces to the concrete.
Disclosure of Invention
Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve above-mentioned problems arising from prior arts, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a deck plate which can obviate the necessity of employing form- works, timbers, and the like as it is integrated in the placed concrete and used for an upper plate in construction and civil structures, and wherein the adhesion forces to the concrete can be increased and arrangement of the reinforced bars can be facilitated by providing an attachment-reinforcing member on the upper surface of the deck plate.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a deck plate in which mass production of main reinforced bars are possible because they have been previously assembled in the factory at the time of constructing civil and construction structures, and construction work can be facilitated at the construction site. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a deck plate for a reinforced bar concrete
construction and civil structure having extraordinarily improved strength in which workability and economic efficiency at the construction can be improved and equality of structures' quality can be secured. To accomplish above objects of the present invention, there is provided a deck plate comprising: a panel arranged between one beam and the other beam, and formed to have a bending portion, and having embosses on an upper surface thereof at predetermined intervals; and an attachment- reinforcing member adhered to the bending portion of the panel, and constructed by including an upper flange, a body, and a lower flange, and having attachment hole.
Also, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a deck plate comprising: a panel arranged between one beam and the other beam, and having embosses on an upper surface thereof at predetermined intervals; and an attachment-reinforcing member adhered to the panel, and constructed by including an upper flange, a body, and a lower flange, and having attachment hole.
According to the third and fourth embodiments of the present invention, there are provided deck plates further comprising a shape maintaining and reinforcing member in addition to the deck plate of the first and second embodiments.
Furthermore, according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, the deck plate of the present invention is characterized in that a single steel plate is bent in an upward vertical direction, a body is formed by bending the steel plate in a downward vertical direction in such a fashion as to be in close contact with the steel plate bent
in the upward vertical direction, an upper flange is fabricated by shearing an upper end of the body and bending, and a panel is fabricated by bending the steel plate in a horizontal direction from the bending portion, the body and the panel is formed integrally through forming at least one body by repeating the above process, at least one attachment hole is formed in the body, and at least one emboss is formed on the panel .
The above objects, other object, particular advantages and novel features of the present invention will be made apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment in connection with the appended drawings.
Brief Description of Drawings
FIG. 1 is a perspective view for showing an assembly shape between a deck plate and reinforced bar according to one conventional art;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view for showing another embodiment of an assembly shape between the deck plate and reinforced bar according to the conventional art;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 ;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view for showing an attachment-reinforcing member for a deck plate according to the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view for showing another embodiment of the attachment-reinforcing member for the deck plate of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view for showing still another embodiment of the attachment-reinforcing member for the deck plate of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view for showing the first embodiment of a deck plate according to the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view for showing the second embodiment of a deck plate according to the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view for showing the third embodiment of a deck plate according to the present invention; FIG. 10 is a perspective view for showing the fourth embodiment of a deck plate according to the present invention;
FIG. 11 is a perspective view for showing the fifth embodiment of a deck plate according to the present invention;
FIG. 12 is a perspective view for showing the deck plate of the present invention, when it is employed in construction and civil structure;
FIG. 13 is a perspective view for showing another embodiment of the deck plate of the present invention, when it is employed in construction and civil structure; and
FIG. 14 is a perspective view for showing a finish portion of both ends of the attachment-reinforcing member placed at the deck plate of the present invention.
Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
Preferred embodiment of the deck plate for the reinforced bar concrete structure of the present invention will now be described in detail with regard to the appended drawings below.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view for showing an
attachment-reinforcing member 41 for a deck plate according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the attachment-reinforcing member 41 of the present invention comprises an upper flange 43 formed alternately and in intersection above a body 44. In the center of the body 44, attachment holes 42 are provided in the longitudinal direction to reinforce adhesion forces to the concrete. Also, a lower flange 45 is provided below the body 44 to be attached to the panel 100. The upper flange 43 is fabricated by shearing an upper portion of the body 44 and bending the sheared portion of the body 44 to the right and left, to result in formation of the upper flange 43 alternately in the right and left directions. According to the deck plate of the present invention, sufficient adhesion forces can be attained through frictional and mechanical reactions between the body 44, the upper flange 41 and the cured concrete. Accordingly, separate arrangement of the reinforced bar or reinforced bar net W is not required.
As shown in FIGs. 1, 2 and 3, when an increase of strength is required, arrangement of the reinforced bar in the longitudinal direction and in the transversal direction together with providing the reinforced bar net W can be performed. Such construction is obvious to those skilled in the relevant art to which the present invention pertains, it is pertained to the technical scope of the present invention.
In FIG. 4, the upper flange 43 is only represented to be formed alternately to extend in a horizontal direction to the right and left, however, angles of the upper flange
43 to the body 44 can be defined to be an acute angle or an obtuse angle.
The attachment hole 42 is configured to be a round shape and is formed in the body 44 of the attachment- reinforcing member 41 in the longitudinal direction. When the concrete is placed on an upper portion of the deck plate according to the present invention, the concrete is placed through the attachment hole 42. Accordingly, it functions to increase the adhesion forces between the deck plate and the concrete.
Meanwhile, in FIG. 4, the shape of the attachment hole 42 is only shown as round. However, the shape of the attachment hole 42 can be formed to be polygonal shape such as rectangular, hexagonal, or oval shape in so far as the longitudinal reinforced bars 53 can be fixed by penetrating the body 44.
The number of the attachment hole 42 can be adjusted properly depending on the desired strength of the structure in which the deck plate of the present invention is employed. Since such variations can be predicted easily by those skilled in the relevant art from the present invention, they pertain to the technical scope of the present invention.
The lower flange 45 is engaged with the body 44 by welding in the vertical direction, and acts to engage the attachment-reinforcing member 41 to the panel 100 by making a bottom surface of the member to be closely contacted with the upper portion of the bending portion 52 of the panel 100. FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the attachment- reinforcing member 41 according to the present invention.
The body 44 is formed perpendicular to the lower flange 45 along a central portion of the lower flange 45. As is in FIG. 4, a plurality of attachment holes 42 are formed in the body 44 at predetermined intervals. However, the attachment-reinforcing member 41 of this embodiment is not provided with the upper flange 43 shown in FIG. 4 and formed by bending the sheared upper portion of the body 44 alternately to the right and left .
When the sufficient adhesion forces of the structure can be assured without the upper flange 43, workability of the construction work can be improved by employing the attachment-reinforcing member 41 as shown in FIG. 5.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing still another embodiment of the attachment-reinforcing member of the present invention. The body 44 is formed perpendicular to the lower flange 45 along a central portion of the lower flange 45. As is in FIG. 4, a plurality of attachment holes 42 are formed in the body 44 at predetermined intervals.
However, the upper flange 43a is formed by attaching separate rectangular shaped steel plate to the body 44. In the attachment-reinforcing member 41 of the present invention, a width of the upper flange 43a is smaller than that of the lower flange 45, so it becomes an H-shaped steel plate member. In FIG. 6, the width of the upper flange 43a is shown to be smaller than that of the lower flange 45. However, the relative size of the widths in the upper flange 43a and lower flange 45 can be properly adjusted depending on the construction environment and the required strength. Such variation is merely a design change, and so it is pertained to the technical scope of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the first embodiment of the deck plate of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the deck plate of the present invention is characterized by comprising a panel 100 arranged between one beam 101 and the other beam 101, and formed to have a bending portion 52, and having embosses 54 on an upper surface thereof at predetermined intervals; and an attachment-reinforcing member 41 adhered to the bending portion 52 of the panel 100, and constructed by including an upper flange 43, a body 44, and a lower flange 45, and having attachment hole 42.
The panel 100 is provided with the bending portion 52 at predetermined intervals to engage with the attachment- reinforcing member 41. Bending grooves 52a are formed at both side ends of the bending portion 52. The attachment- reinforcing member 41 and the panel 100 are bound with both ends of the lower flange 45 being engaged by insertion to each other along the bending grooves 52a. Such bending portions 52 can be adjusted properly depending on the desired number of the attachment-reinforcing member 41.
The panel 100 is fabricated by a steel plate having an approximate thickness in a range of 0.5 ~ 8.0mm. It functions as a form during the construction as the concrete is placed on it. Accordingly, separate providing of the form is not required. After the cure of the concrete, the panel is not removed and exerts a resisting power against outer forces together with the concrete. As a result, the panel functions as a reinforcing member for the tensile side and protects sheared surface of the concrete to thereby reduce materials involved and improve strength of the structure greatly.
The bending portion 52 is formed on the panel 100 at predetermined intervals by means of a molding machine. The attachment-reinforcing member 41 is engaged with the panel
100 by inserting both ends of the lower flange 45 into the bending grooves 52a formed at both sides thereof.
A plurality of embosses 54 are formed by pressing the panel by means of a press machine having recesses and projections. As shown in FIG. 7, the emboss 54 is positioned between the attachment-reinforcing members 41 and have projected shape on the panel 100. The embosses 54 are formed in the longitudinal direction of the attachment- reinforcing member 41 at intervals ranging 30 ~ 50cm.
The emboss 54 improves bending stiffness of the panel
100 having plate structure in the deck plate of the present invention. Also, it improves adhesion forces of the panel
100 to the concrete so that the deck plate can move integrally with the concrete.
The shape and number of the emboss 54 can be adjusted within the obvious scope of the skilled people in the relevant art, although not shown in FIG. 7 directly.
Meanwhile, the attachment-reinforcing member 41 can endure sufficiently against tensional force acting in the longitudinal direction. Accordingly, it is possible to improve workability at the construction site because it is not required to arrange reinforced bar in the longitudinal direction separately. The number of the attachment- reinforcing member 41 can be adjusted depending on the desired strength and size of the structure.
As described previously with regard to FIG. 4, the upper flange 43 is formed to be parallel with the panel 100 by bending the upper portion of the body 44 to the right
and left alternately. By means of such upper flange 43, the deck plate can be firmly adhered to the concrete. The deck plate and the concrete can operate integrally against outer forces without separate movement by increasing the binding. The panel 100 and the attachment-reinforcing member 41 are reinforced through engaging by means of rivets or bolts or through welding both side ends of the bending portion 52 and both ends of the lower flange 45, after they are engaged with each other. Preferably, spot welding can be employed in engaging both side ends of the bending portion 52 with both ends of the lower flange 45.
Furthermore, although not shown directly in FIG. 7, when reinforcement of the structure is required, longitudinal reinforced bars are arranged above the upper flange 43 and engaged with the upper flange 43 by welding or joint reinforced bar.
When the deck plate of the present invention is used in construction, as it is not required to remove the deck plate after the cure of the concrete, it is possible to improve workability as well as to make the appearance of the structure outstanding.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view for showing the second embodiment of the deck plate of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 8, the deck plate according to the second embodiment comprises a panel 100 arranged between one beam 101 and the other beam 101, and having embosses 54 on an upper surface thereof at predetermined intervals; and an attachment-reinforcing member 41 adhered to the panel 100, and constructed by including an upper flange 43, a body 44, and a lower flange 45, and having attachment hole 42.
The deck plate according to the second embodiment of the present invention is similar to the deck plate according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 7 with regard to its construction, action and effect thereof. However, it is distinguished by providing the attachment- reinforcing member 41 instead of forming the bending portion 52 at the panel 100.
In this instance, the panel 100 can be engaged with the attachment-reinforcing member 41 by means of welding, riveting or bolting both side ends of the lower flange 45 to the panel 100, as have been done in FIG. 7. In case of welding, spot welding is preferable to be done in the longitudinal direction along the lower flange 45 at predetermined interval of ranging 30 ~ 50 cm approximately. In FIG. 8, it is shown that the attachment- reinforcing member 41 shown in FIG. 7 has been provided, however, this can be replaced by the attachment-reinforcing member shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view for showing the deck plate according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The deck plate is characterized by comprising a panel 100 arranged between one beam 101 and the other beam 101, and formed to have a bending portion 52, and having embosses 54 on an upper surface thereof at predetermined intervals; an attachment-reinforcing member 41 adhered to the bending portion 52 of the panel 100, and constructed by including an upper flange 43, a body 44, and a lower flange 45, and having attachment hole 42; and a shape maintaining and reinforcing member 51 provided in a bent shape and to be in close contact with the panel 100 and the attachment- reinforcing member 41.
As shown in FIG. 9, the deck plate according to the third embodiment further comprises the shape maintaining and reinforcing member 51 in addition to deck plate of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 7, the attachment-reinforcing member 41 includes the upper flange 43, the body 44, the lower flange 45, and the attachment hole 42. The upper flange 43 is formed by bending the upper portion of the sheared body 44 to the right and the left alternately after shearing the upper portion of the body 44. The upper flange 43 is extended in the horizontal direction in parallel with the panel 100 to be formed alternately to the right and the left along the longitudinal direction of the attachment-reinforcing member 41 at both sides of the body 44. The shape maintaining and reinforcing member 51 extends from one end of the panel 100 in the horizontal direction and is bent at an initial bending portion 52 upwardly. Then, it surrounds the upper flange 43 and is bent downwardly. Further, it is bent toward the horizontal direction at the second bending portion 52 again. Thereafter, it is bent repeatedly to the upward direction and to the downward direction at the second and third bending portion 52 and extends horizontally between the bending portions to thereby reach the other end of the panel 100.
It is welded to the panel 100 and the upper flange 43 after it is bent as described above. Optionally, it can be welded at a portion contacting with the panel 100, and be engaged at a portion contacting with the upper flange 43 by the joint reinforced bar.
The shape maintaining and reinforcing member 51
functions as a tensioning member when the deck plate of the present invention is used as the upper plate in the construction and civil structure, after placing the concrete. Further it operates to prevent deformations which are provable to occur at the body 44 or at the upper flange 43 when the adhesion is destroyed between the panel 100 and the attachment-reinforcing member 41 or when the attachment-reinforcing member 41 receives a load.
In such a case, the panel 100 and the attachment- reinforcing member 41 can be engaged with each other by welding, riveting, or inserting a bolt between the lower flange 45 and both side ends of the bending portion 52, as shown in FIG. 7. In case of welding, spot welding is preferably performed. FIG. 10 is a perspective view for showing the deck plate according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The deck plate is characterized by comprising a panel 100 arranged between one beam 101 and the other beam 101, and having embosses 54 on an upper surface thereof at predetermined intervals; an attachment-reinforcing member 41 adhered to the panel 100, and constructed by including an upper flange 43, a body 44, and a lower flange 45, and having attachment hole 42; and a shape maintaining and reinforcing member 51 provided in such a fashion as to be in close contact with the panel 100 and the attachment- reinforcing member 41 in bent shape.
As shown in FIG. 10, the deck plate of the fourth embodiment of the present invention further comprises an attachment-reinforcing member 51 in addition to the deck plate according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 8. Accordingly, the attachment-reinforcing member 41 is
comprised of the upper flange 43, the body 44, the lower flange 45, and the attachment hole 42. The upper flanges 43 are extended in the horizontal direction in parallel with the panel 100. They are formed alternately to the right and the left along the longitudinal direction of the attachment-reinforcing member 41 at both sides of the body 44, as has been shown in FIG. 8.
Meanwhile, the shape maintaining and reinforcing member 41 extends from one end of the panel 100 in the horizontal direction, and is bent at the bending portion 52. Then, it is bent with surrounding the upper flange 43 and is arrived at the other end of the panel 100, as has been described with regard to FIG. 9.
Furthermore, the panel 100 is engaged with the lower flange 45 by welding, riveting or inserting a bolt as described with regard to FIG. 8.
It is well known to those peoples skilled in the relevant art that the attachment-reinforcing member 41 according to this embodiment can be replaced with the attachment-reinforcing member 41 shown in FIG. 5 and 6, although not shown directly in FIGs. 9 and 10.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the fifth embodiment of the deck plate of the present invention, in which the attachment-reinforcing member and the panel are fabricated integrally with each other by bending a single steel plate repeatedly.
As shown in FIG. 11, the panel 100 is bent upwardly in vertical direction at the bending portion 52b, and then a length corresponding to a length of the body 44 and the upper flange 43 is secured. Thereafter, the panel is bent downwardly in vertical direction to thereby form the body
44 by making both sides of the panel 100 to be closely contacted with each other. Then, the panel 100 is bent in the horizontal direction at the bending portion 52b to thereby accomplish completed shape of the deck plate. After accomplishing the shape described above, an upper portion of the body 44 is sheared. Next, the sheared upper portion of the body 44 is bent alternately to the right and left in the vertical direction to thereby form the upper flange 43. The attachment hole 42 and the emboss 54 are previously formed at a predetermined position of the panel 100. Then, the deck plate of the present invention can be fabricated by bending the panel 100. Also, after shaping the whole deck plate by bending the panel 100, the attachment hole 42 and the emboss 54 can be formed respectively in the body 44 and the panel 100 at predetermined intervals.
When the attachment-reinforcing member 41 and the panel 100 are constructed integrally, the stiffness of the whole member can be increased, and the equality of the quality and the workability in the construction can be improved.
Meanwhile, although not shown in FIG. 11, with regard to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, as has been described with regard to the third embodiment shown in FIGs. 9 and 10, the shape maintaining and reinforcing member 51 can be formed by providing the panel 100 to surround the upper flange 43 and bending it.
Furthermore, the shape of the upper flange 43 can be formed as that of the attachment-reinforcing member shown in FIGs. 5 and 6.
FIG. 12 is a perspective view for showing a construction and civil structure employing the deck plate of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12, the attachment-reinforcing member 41 of the deck plate according to the present invention is constructed to be in parallel relationship with the beam 101. The deck plate of the present invention is constructed on stepping plates 102 after they are arranged on both beams 101.
FIG. 13 is a perspective view for showing another embodiment of the construction and civil structure employing the deck plate of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 13, the deck plate of the present invention is constructed so that the attachment-reinforcing member 41 and the beam 101 can be arranged vertically. The attachment-reinforcing member41 can operate with the longitudinal reinforced bar constructively, and the transversal reinforced bar 53 can be arranged by penetrating the attachment hole 42 of the attachment- reinforcing member 41 or by being adhered to the upper portion of the upper flange 43.
Although the number of the attachment hole 42 is shown to be ten in FIG. 13, this represents only one embodiment of the present invention, and the number of the attachment hole 42 can be increased or decreased depending on the strength required by the structure.
FIG. 14 is a perspective view for showing a finish portion 61 of the attachment-reinforcing member 41 according to the present invention. The finish portion 61 is formed at both ends of the attachment-reinforcing member 41, when the deck plate of the present invention is placed so that the attachment-reinforcing member 41 and the beam
101 is arranged vertically. Such finish portion 61 improves safety property and the workability in the construction by making the outer appearance of the structure outstanding and the end of the attachment-reinforcing member dull. As described above, the deck plate of the present invention has been described with regard to the construction and civil structure, however, it is well known to those peoples skilled in the relevant art that the deck plate of the present invention can be applied to a general slab member employed in civil and construction structure in various use. Therefore, such variations should be pertained to the technical scope of the present invention described in the appended claims.
Industrial Applicability
According to the deck plate for the reinforced bar concrete structure of the present invention, following advantages can be obtained.
As the deck plate is simply arranged between the beams at the construction site and the concrete is placed on it, it is not required to remove the deck plate after the curing of the concrete. That is to say, because the deck plate can be used as a part of the structure, it is not necessary to provide the form and the timbering, and to disintegrate them.
Furthermore, it is possible to provide simple and rapid construction, and to reduce construction period as well as construction costs.
Also, arrangement of the main reinforced bar can be abridged because the attachment-reinforcing member can act as the main reinforced bar in construction.
In addition, as the deck plate according to the present invention is supplied to the construction site after it has been previously fabricated in the factory, it is possible to accomplish rapidness of the construction work and equality of quality in the fabricated products. Especially, as the deck plate of the present invention is transported to the construction site after it has been fabricated previously in the factory, it is possible to accomplish mass fabrication of the deck plate and to reduce construction time.
Although the present invention has been described with regard to preferred embodiments and appended drawings, various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention by those peoples skilled in the relevant art. Accordingly, the appended claims are expected to include such changes and modifications pertaining to the true scope of the present invention.