Disclosure of Invention
Aiming at the problems of the existing mode of treating the aquaculture sewage, the invention aims to provide an aquatic animal aquaculture system, so that the aquaculture sewage can be treated with lower water consumption and lower energy consumption, and the influence of low-temperature water in a reservoir on the downstream ecological environment is slowed down.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:
An aquatic animal culture system comprises a first cold source tank, a sewage tank, a separating tower, a culture tank and a refrigeration module, wherein,
The water inlet of the first cold source pool is communicated with the low-temperature water outlet of the reservoir, and the water outlet of the first cold source pool is communicated with the river channel;
The first cold source tank is matched with the sewage tank in a heat exchange mode, the refrigerating module and the first cold source tank are used for cooling the culture sewage in the sewage tank to form ice slurry, and the water inlet of the sewage tank is used for being communicated with the sewage outlet of the culture tank;
The separation tower is provided with an ice slurry inlet, a concentrated solution discharge port and an ice crystal discharge port, wherein the ice slurry inlet is communicated with a water outlet of the sewage tank so as to receive ice slurry discharged by the sewage tank, the ice crystal discharge port is higher than the concentrated solution discharge port and is used for discharging ice crystals separated from the ice slurry, and the concentrated solution discharge port is used for discharging concentrated solution separated from the ice slurry.
Further, the system also comprises a second cold source tank, wherein the second cold source tank is matched with the sewage tank in a heat exchange mode, so that the temperature of the culture sewage in the sewage tank is reduced, a water inlet of the second cold source tank is communicated with the ice crystal discharge port, and a water outlet of the second cold source tank is communicated with a water purifying inlet of the culture tank.
Further, the first cold source pool, the second cold source pool and the sewage pool are sequentially arranged, and the first cold source pool is used for cooling the culture sewage in the sewage pool through the second cold source pool.
Further, the refrigeration module comprises a first electric refrigeration module and a second electric refrigeration module, wherein the first electric refrigeration module is connected between the first cold source tank and the second cold source tank, and the second electric refrigeration module is connected between the second cold source tank and the sewage tank;
The heat absorption end of the first electric refrigeration module is contacted with the second cold source pool;
The heat-absorbing end of the second electric refrigeration module is contacted with the sewage pool.
Further, the reservoir is provided with a hydroelectric power generation module, and the hydroelectric power generation module is electrically connected with the first electric refrigeration module and the second electric refrigeration module respectively.
Further, the reservoir is provided with a hydroelectric power generation module, and a tail water outlet of the hydroelectric power generation module is communicated with a water inlet of the first cold source pool.
Further, a filtering space is arranged in the separation tower, the ice slurry inlet is higher than the concentrated solution discharge port, the filtering space is positioned between the ice slurry inlet and the concentrated solution discharge port), and the ice crystal discharge port is communicated with the filtering space.
Further, the separation tower comprises a tower body and a lifting device arranged in the tower body, wherein the lifting device is arranged in the tower body in a lifting manner and is used for lifting the ice crystals to the ice crystal discharge port.
Further, the separation column further includes a cleaning shower head higher than the ice crystal discharge port, the cleaning shower head being for spraying cleaning water to the ice crystals in the case where the ice crystals are separated from the concentrated liquid.
Further, the cleaning nozzle is communicated with the low-temperature water outlet.
Further, a first electric control valve is arranged at the water outlet of the first cold source tank, a first temperature control device is arranged in the first cold source tank, the first temperature control device is connected with the first electric control valve, and the first electric control valve is controlled to be opened under the condition that water Wen Dayu in the first cold source tank is at a first preset threshold value.
The aquatic animal cultivation system provided by the invention has the following beneficial effects:
According to the aquatic animal cultivation system disclosed by the embodiment of the invention, reservoir low-temperature water discharged from the reservoir is introduced into the first cold source pool, so that cultivation sewage in the sewage pool is cooled by means of reservoir low-temperature water with lower temperature, liquid cultivation sewage can be converted into ice slurry under the synergistic effect of the refrigerating module, then the ice slurry is input into the separating tower, so that the ice slurry is separated into ice crystals and concentrated solution, the ice crystals are formed by water ice in the cultivation sewage, the ice crystals are separated out through the ice crystal discharge port for subsequent secondary utilization, and pollutants in the cultivation sewage can be left in the concentrated solution and discharged out of the separating tower along with the concentrated solution from the concentrated solution discharge port. The process realizes the physical separation of the culture sewage, so that water in the culture sewage can be recovered and pollutants in the culture sewage can be further concentrated and separated.
According to the process, the aquatic animal cultivation system disclosed by the embodiment of the application can fully utilize the low-temperature characteristic of low-temperature water of the reservoir, so that cultivation sewage can be treated, excessive energy consumption of the refrigeration module is avoided, and the energy consumption in the cultivation sewage process can be reduced.
Detailed Description
In order to make the technical scheme of the present invention better understood by those skilled in the art, the present invention will be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to fig. 1 and 2, an embodiment of the present application discloses an aquarium culture system comprising a first cold source tank 10, a sewage tank 20, a separation tower 30, a culture tank 100 and a refrigerating module.
The first cold source tank 10 plays a role in cooling, and a water inlet of the first cold source tank 10 is used for communicating with a low-temperature water outlet 41 of the reservoir 40. The low-temperature water in the reservoir 40 enters the first cold source tank 10 for standby through the low-temperature water discharge port 41 and the water inlet of the first cold source tank 10. The low temperature water in the reservoir is lower in temperature, so that the first cold source tank 10 has the effect of reducing the temperature after entering the first cold source tank 10. After the reservoir low-temperature water is cooled, the reservoir low-temperature water can be discharged through the water outlet of the first cold source tank 10. Specifically, the water outlet of the first cold source tank 10 may be communicated with a river channel, and the reservoir low-temperature water in the first cold source tank 10 may be discharged into the river channel after the cooling function is achieved. The water outlet of the first cold source tank 10 may be provided with a switching valve to control the water discharging operation of the first cold source tank 10.
The first cold source tank 10 and the sewage tank 20 are matched in heat exchange mode, so that the temperature of the culture sewage in the sewage tank 20 is reduced, the refrigerating module is used for refrigerating, the refrigerating module and the first cold source tank 10 play a synergistic effect, and the culture sewage can form ice slurry. The water inlet of the lagoon 20 is adapted to communicate with the wastewater outlet of the lagoon 100. Specifically, the water inlet of the lagoon 20 may communicate with the sewage outlet of the culture pond 100 through the sewage pipe 51. The culture sewage generated in the culture pond 100 is introduced into the sewage pipe 51 and finally introduced into the sewage pond 20 through the sewage pipe 51 to be treated. In an embodiment of the application, the refrigeration module is an electric refrigeration module.
The separation column 30 is provided with an ice slurry inlet 31, a concentrate discharge 32 and an ice crystal discharge 33. The ice slurry inlet 31 communicates with the drain outlet of the sump 20 to receive ice slurry discharged from the sump 20. As described above, the culture sewage in the lagoon 20 is cooled to form ice slurry (substantially comprising a mixture of liquid and ice crystals), and the ice slurry is discharged from the water outlet of the lagoon 20 and enters the separation tower 30 through the ice slurry inlet 31.
The ice crystal discharge port 33 is used to discharge ice crystals separated from the ice slurry. Specifically, ice crystals may be directly discharged into the culture pond 100, or purified water after melting the ice crystals may be input into the culture pond 100. The concentrate discharge port 32 is used to discharge the concentrate separated from the ice slurry. After the ice slurry is formed, the ice crystals are suspended due to the low density, so that the extraction of part of water in the culture sewage is substantially realized.
In the embodiment of the application, the ice crystal discharge port 33 is higher than the concentrate discharge port 32, so that the ice crystal can be separated from the concentrate under the condition that the ice crystal reaches the ice crystal discharge port 33, and the separated ice crystal is discharged through the ice crystal discharge port 33, so that the recovery of water in the culture sewage is realized. The remaining concentrate may be discharged through concentrate discharge port 32. Specifically, the concentrate may be discharged through the concentrate discharge port 32 into a dedicated transport vehicle to be transported to the next process environment for innocuous treatment. The concentrated solution can also be directly subjected to end treatment such as freeze-drying crystallization, evaporative crystallization or desiccation treatment.
According to the aquatic animal cultivation system disclosed by the embodiment of the application, reservoir low-temperature water discharged from a reservoir is introduced into the first cold source tank 10, so that cultivation sewage in the sewage tank 20 is cooled by means of reservoir low-temperature water with lower temperature, liquid cultivation sewage can be converted into ice slurry under the synergistic effect of the refrigerating module, then the ice slurry is input into the separating tower 30, so that the ice slurry is separated into ice crystals and concentrated solution, the ice crystals are formed by freezing water in the cultivation sewage, the ice crystals are separated out through the ice crystal discharge port 33 for subsequent secondary utilization, and pollutants in the cultivation sewage can be remained in the concentrated solution and discharged out of the separating tower 30 along with the concentrated solution from the concentrated solution discharge port 32. The process realizes the physical separation of the culture sewage, so that water in the culture sewage can be recovered and pollutants in the culture sewage can be further concentrated and separated.
According to the process, the aquatic animal cultivation system disclosed by the embodiment of the application can fully utilize the low-temperature characteristic of low-temperature water of the reservoir, so that cultivation sewage can be treated, excessive energy consumption of the refrigeration module is avoided, and the energy consumption in the cultivation sewage process can be reduced.
It should be explained that after a river is dammed to form a reservoir, water in the reservoir presents a vertical water temperature layering phenomenon, and the temperature of water at the upper layer of the reservoir is higher than that of water at the lower layer of the reservoir. The temperature of the water at the bottom of the reservoir is the lowest. And the water discharged from the reservoir is the water at the lower layer of the reservoir or the water at the bottom of the reservoir, so that the temperature of the water discharged from the reservoir is far lower than that of the water in the natural river channel. Herein, low water in the reservoir refers to water at a lower temperature discharged from the reservoir, for example, water below a predetermined level (e.g., 5 meters, 10 meters) in the reservoir.
Because the temperature of the water discharged from the reservoir is far lower than that of the water in the natural river, if the water discharged from the reservoir is directly discharged, the downstream agricultural production, fish resources and the ecological environment of the water body can be affected. In the related art, a layered water taking mode is generally adopted to realize water discharge of a reservoir, for example, when the reservoir discharges water, part of upper water is discharged, and part of lower water is discharged, so that the two water are mixed, the temperature of the water discharged by the reservoir is not too low, and adverse effects on downstream are reduced. Obviously, the discharging mode of the reservoir needs to be regulated, and the problems of complicated control and higher investment cost exist.
The aquatic animal cultivation system disclosed by the embodiment of the application can enable the reservoir to directly discharge reservoir low-temperature water, and the temperature of the reservoir low-temperature water is increased through heat exchange between the reservoir low-temperature water and cultivation sewage, so that the reservoir low-temperature water can be discharged to the downstream of the reservoir after heat exchange is carried out on the cultivation sewage, and adverse effects on downstream agricultural production, fish resources and aquatic ecological environment are relieved. Therefore, the aquatic animal cultivation system disclosed by the embodiment of the application not only realizes low-energy treatment of cultivation sewage, but also solves the problem of adverse effect generated by discharge of low-temperature water in a reservoir, has multiple purposes, and has more remarkable practical economic benefit.
The aquatic cultivation system disclosed by the embodiment of the application adopts the design thinking of freezing concentration substantially, the cultivation sewage is cooled to below the freezing point of water under the low-temperature environment based on the solid-liquid balance principle of freezing separation, the physical characteristic that the freezing point of solute in the cultivation sewage is far lower than the freezing point of water is utilized, so that the water in the cultivation sewage is preferentially separated out in a solid phase rather than pollutant impurities, is frozen into ice crystals, the pollutant impurities are removed, and finally the relatively pure ice crystals in the solid phase and the concentrated solution containing the pollutant impurities in the liquid phase are separated through the separation tower 30. The concentrated solution can be concentrated at the tail end for treatment, and the ice crystals are used as a cold source to realize secondary utilization or recovery so as to meet the requirement of low emission.
The aquarium culture system disclosed by the embodiment of the application can further comprise a second cold source tank 60, and the second cold source tank 60 is matched with the sewage tank 20 in a heat exchange mode so as to be used for cooling the culture sewage in the sewage tank 20. The water inlet of the second cold source tank 60 is communicated with the ice crystal discharge port 33, and ice crystals discharged from the ice crystal discharge port 33 can enter the second cold source tank 60, so that the temperature of the second cold source tank 60 is low, heat exchange can be conducted on the sewage tank 20, the purpose of further cooling the sewage tank 20 is achieved, and the cultured sewage in the sewage tank 20 is easier to become ice slurry. The optimal scheme not only can fully utilize the ice crystals which are the treated products, but also can further improve the cooling efficiency of the cultivation sewage, thereby achieving the purpose of achieving multiple purposes. Specifically, the water outlet of the second cold source tank 60 is communicated with the purified water inlet of the culture tank 100, so that the purified water with higher temperature formed after heat exchange of ice crystals can be discharged into the culture tank 100, and the purpose of supplementing the purified water into the culture tank 100 is achieved. Specifically, the water outlet of the second heat sink 60 may communicate with the purified water inlet of the culture pond 100 through the purified water pipe 52.
In the embodiment of the present application, the first cold source tank 10 may exchange heat with the sewage tank 20 directly or indirectly. Similarly, the second heat sink 60 may exchange heat directly with the lagoon 20 or indirectly. In an alternative, the first cold source tank 10, the second cold source tank 60 and the sewage tank 20 may be sequentially disposed. The first cold source tank 10 is used for cooling the culture sewage in the sewage tank 20 through the second cold source tank 60. This way is equivalent to that the first cold source tank 20 indirectly cools the sewage tank 20 through the second cold source tank 60, and the second cold source tank 60 directly cools the sewage tank 20. Of course, in this case, when the ice crystals in the second cold source tank 60 change heat to form water to cool the sewage tank 20, the water formed after the ice crystals exchange heat in the second cold source tank 60 further receives the cold of the low-temperature water in the reservoir in the first cold source tank 10, so as to cool the aquaculture sewage in the sewage tank 20.
Preferably, the first and second cold source tanks 10 and 60 and the sewage tank 20 may be disposed at one side of the river course in the water flow direction of the river course, which is advantageous in that the water having an increased temperature after heat exchange in the first and second cold source tanks 10 and 60 is discharged into the river course.
In the aquarium culture system disclosed by the embodiment of the application, the types of the refrigeration modules can be various, for example, the refrigeration modules can be ice machines. Of course, the refrigeration module may be of other kinds. In an alternative, the refrigeration module may include a first electric refrigeration module 70, where the first electric refrigeration module 70 is connected between the first cold source tank 10 and the second cold source tank 60, a heat-releasing end of the first electric refrigeration module 70 is in contact with the first cold source tank 10, and a heat-absorbing end of the first electric refrigeration module 70 is in contact with the second cold source tank 60. When the first electric refrigeration module 70 works, the heat absorbing end of the first electric refrigeration module 70 absorbs heat in the second cold source tank 60, so that the second cold source tank 60 is cooled, and finally the temperature in the second cold source tank 60 is reduced. The heat release end of the first electric refrigeration module 70 releases the heat absorbed by the heat absorption end of the first electric refrigeration module 70 into the first cold source tank 10, so that the first cold source tank 10 is heated, and in the process, the cold energy in the first cold source tank 10 is transferred into the second cold source tank 60 in a phase-changing manner. This structure can improve the cooling efficiency of the first cooling source tank 10 to the second cooling source tank 60 by the first electric refrigerating module 70.
Similarly, in the aquarium culture system disclosed in the embodiment of the present application, the refrigeration module may further comprise a second electric refrigeration module 80, and the second electric refrigeration module 80 is connected between the second cold source tank 60 and the sewage tank 20. Specifically, the heat-releasing end of the second electric refrigerating module 80 contacts the second cold source tank 60, and the heat-absorbing end of the second electric refrigerating module 80 contacts the sewage tank 20. The heat release end of the second electric refrigeration module 80 releases the heat absorbed by the heat absorption end of the second electric refrigeration module 80 into the second cold source tank 60, thereby realizing the heating of the second cold source tank 60, and in the process, the cold energy in the second cold source tank 60 is transferred into the sewage tank 20 in a phase-changing manner. This structure can improve the cooling efficiency of the second cold source tank 60 to the sewage tank 20 through the second electric refrigerating module 80.
In particular, the first and second electric refrigeration modules 70, 80 may be semiconductor refrigeration mechanisms, and embodiments of the present application are not limited to a particular type of first and second electric refrigeration modules 70, 80.
In an embodiment of the present application, the reservoir 40 may be provided with a hydro-power generation module 90, and the hydro-power generation module 90 may be electrically connected to the first and second electric refrigeration modules 70 and 80, respectively, to supply power to the first and second electric refrigeration modules 70 and 80. The scheme can fully utilize the electric energy generated by the reservoir to discharge the low-temperature water in the reservoir to supply power for the first electric refrigeration module 70 and the second electric refrigeration module 80, does not need to consume the electric energy in the power grid additionally, and can still better meet the aim of low energy consumption.
Further, the reservoir 40 is provided with a hydroelectric power generation module 90, and a tail water outlet of the hydroelectric power generation module 90 is communicated with a water inlet of the first cold source tank 10. The structure can enable the reservoir low-temperature water discharged by the reservoir to be discharged into the first cold source pool 10 for subsequent treatment of the aquaculture sewage after the water power generation module 90 generates power. Obviously, the structure can make the reservoir low-temperature water more fully utilized, improve the utilization rate and achieve the purpose of one object with multiple purposes. This can further improve the economic efficiency. It should be noted that the tail water outlet refers to a water outlet of the hydro-power generation module 90. The reservoir low-temperature water passes through the hydroelectric generation module 90 to drive the hydroelectric generation module 90 to generate electricity, and is finally discharged through a water outlet of the hydroelectric generation module 90.
As described above, the separation column 30 is used to effect separation of ice crystals from the concentrate. In one embodiment, a filtering space may be provided in the separation tower 30, the ice slurry inlet 31 is higher than the concentrate discharge port 33, the filtering space is located between the ice slurry inlet 31 and the concentrate discharge port 33, and the ice crystal discharge port 33 is in communication with the filtering space. In a specific working process, the ice slurry in the sewage tank 20 enters the ice slurry inlet 31 and is conveyed into the separation tower 30, the ice slurry entering the separation tower 30 falls into the filtering space, the concentrated solution continuously falls through the filtering space under the filtering action of the filtering space, and the ice crystals in the ice slurry are left in the filtering space, so that the separation of the ice crystals and the concentrated solution is finally realized. Ice crystals remaining in the filtering space are discharged through the ice crystal discharge port 33 for secondary use. The separation of ice crystals and concentrated solution can be realized in the process that ice slurry enters the separation tower 30 and falls, and a lifting device is not required to be arranged in the separation tower 30, and the sewage tank 20 and the separation tower 30 can be constructed according to the topography, so that the sewage tank 20 is higher than the separation tower 30, and the ice slurry can flow into the separation tower 30 under the action of gravity. Of course, a driving mechanism may be provided at the drain port of the sewage tank 20, and the driving mechanism may drive the flow of the ice slurry so that the ice slurry flows into the separation tower 30.
In an alternative, the drive mechanism may be a gear pump disposed at the drain outlet of the sump 20 or at the ice slurry inlet 31, the gear pump being capable of forcing ice slurry into the separator tower 30. The gear pump realizes the drive to fluid through intermeshing's gear, adopts gear pump drive ice thick liquid to flow to can be at driven in-process, intermeshing's gear can crush the ice crystal, make the ice crystal enter into in the separator 30 with less massive structure, avoid the massive too big and the problem of the outlet or the ice thick liquid entry 31 of the dead effluent water sump 20 of card of ice crystal.
In other embodiments, in particular, there are a variety of ways to achieve ice crystal and concentrate separation. In an alternative, the separation column 30 may comprise a column 301 and a lifting device 302 provided in the column 301, the lifting device 302 being provided in the column 301 in a liftable manner and being adapted to lift ice crystals to the ice crystal discharge opening 33. This structure can be through the lifting movement of hoisting device 302 to drag out the ice crystal from the concentrate, and then realize the separation, this kind of mode simple structure, convenient operation. The lifting device 302 may be a conventional cable lifting mechanism, and embodiments of the present application are not limited to the specific type of lifting device 302.
During separation of ice crystals from the concentrate, contaminant impurities in the concentrate may adhere to the surface of the ice crystals, thereby affecting the cleanliness of the ice crystals. Based on this, in a preferred embodiment, the separation column 30 may further include a cleaning spray head 303, the cleaning spray head 303 being higher than the ice crystal discharge port 33, the cleaning spray head 303 being for spraying cleaning water to the ice crystals in case that the ice crystals are separated from the concentrated liquid, thereby cleaning contaminant impurities attached to the surface of the ice crystals. This solution can promote the cleanliness of the ice crystals.
In a more preferred embodiment, the cleaning nozzle 303 may be in communication with the low temperature water discharge port 41. The structure can enable the low-temperature water in the reservoir discharged by the reservoir to play the purpose of cleaning ice crystals, and further improve the utilization efficiency of the low-temperature water in the reservoir. Meanwhile, as the temperature of the low-temperature water in the reservoir is lower, the water in the reservoir is used for cleaning the ice crystals, so that the ice crystals are not excessively melted, the cleaning is guaranteed, and meanwhile, the ice crystals are not excessively lost. In this process, reservoir low-temperature water is used as the cleaning water.
As described above, the water discharge port of the first heat sink 10 may communicate with the river. Since the low-temperature water in the first cooling reservoir 10 is cooled, the temperature thereof increases, and the warmed low-temperature water is discharged into the river, adverse effects on downstream can be reduced. In order to better control the discharge of the low-temperature water in the reservoir in the first cold source tank 10, in an alternative scheme, the water outlet of the first cold source tank 10 may be provided with a first electric control valve, a first temperature control device may be provided in the first cold source tank 10, the first temperature control device is connected with the first electric control valve, and in the case that the water temperature in the first cold source tank 10 is greater than a first preset threshold (for example, 15 ℃), the first electric control valve is controlled to be opened, so that the heated low-temperature water in the reservoir is discharged into the river channel.
As described above, the water outlet of the second heat sink 60 may also communicate with the river. Similarly, the temperature of water formed after the ice crystals in the second cold source tank 60 are melted is too low, if the water is directly discharged to the culture tank 100, adverse effects may be caused to aquatic animals, similarly, the water outlet of the second cold source tank 60 can be provided with a second electric control valve, a second temperature control device can be arranged in the second cold source tank 60 and is connected with the second electric control valve, and the second electric control valve is controlled to be opened under the condition that the water temperature in the second cold source tank 60 is larger than a first preset threshold value, so that purified water (melted by the ice crystals) after the temperature rise is discharged to the culture tank 100 is realized.
In the embodiment of the present application, no water exchange occurs between the first cold source tank 10 and the second cold source tank 60, between the first cold source tank 10 and the sewage tank 20, and between the second cold source tank 60 and the sewage tank 20. In order to realize more abundant heat transfer, in a more preferred scheme, can all be provided with the agitator in first cold source pond 10, second cold source pond 60 and the effluent water sump 20, the stirring of agitator can make corresponding water in first cold source pond 10, second cold source pond 60 or the effluent water sump 20 take place the disturbance to realize comparatively balanced heat transfer, be favorable to improving heat exchange efficiency. As shown in fig. 1, the first stirring device 11 is provided in the first cold source tank 10, the second stirring device 21 is provided in the sewage tank 20, and the third stirring device 61 is provided in the second cold source tank 60.
In order to improve the cooling efficiency, optionally, the volume ratio of the first cold source tank 10, the second cold source tank 60 and the sewage tank 20 may be 4:2:1.
Considering that the areas where the domestic water conservancy and hydropower engineering is located are mostly II-type water quality standard areas, and no pollution discharge is needed. Therefore, in the aquarium culture system disclosed in the embodiment of the application, the first cold source tank 10 and the second cold source tank 60 can be closed type tanks, the reservoir low temperature water only stays in the first cold source tank 10, and after the temperature rises, the reservoir low temperature water flows back into the river channel, and no exchange with the internal water in other spaces occurs.
The aquarium culture system disclosed by the embodiment of the application can also comprise a sewage pretreatment device which can be connected with the sewage pool 20 and is used for carrying out pretreatment measures such as filtering, sedimentation, oil removal and the like on the culture sewage so as to remove insoluble matters. The culture sewage is pretreated by the sewage pretreatment device and then discharged into the sewage pool 20, and then the subsequent cooling process is carried out. The sewage pretreatment device can certainly improve the treatment effect on the culture sewage.
While certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described above by way of illustration only, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that modifications may be made to the described embodiments in various different ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive of the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims.