Flexible forefoot protection for insoles and shoes

Abstract

A protective plate for footwear provides protection that is flexible. A protective plate may include a forefoot plate having a ball, middle and lateral section that are configured to move and flex to enable a better feel on uneven terrain. A protective plate may extend from the forefoot to the heel and include a midfoot protective plate and a heel protective plate. Sections of the protective plate are hinged or separated to allow for a greater degree of independent movement of the three main groups of muscles and bones in the forefoot in response to walking, hiking and running on various terrain. A separate insole is described that incorporates the forefoot protection plate and that can be inserted into and removed from footwear in order to provide additional protection as needed. A shoe including outer-sole, midsole and upper, are also described having a flexible protective plate.

Claims

1. A shoe comprising; a) an outsole, wherein the outsole has a plurality of lugs and lug grooves located between the lugs for improved traction, wherein the lug grooves are thinner than the lugs; b) an upper coupled to the outsole and extending over the outsole; c) an insert configured for placement within the shoe and comprising: i) a protective plate, said protective plate comprising: a forefoot protective plate over a forefoot portion of said shoe and comprising: a ball section consisting of hard plastic; a middle section consisting of hard plastic; and a lateral section consisting of hard plastic; wherein the middle section is located between the ball section and the lateral section; wherein the forefoot protective plate is a single piece of material and comprises a thinner portion between the ball section and middle section; wherein the forefoot protective plate comprises a thinner portion between the middle section and lateral section; and d) an insole comprising a cushioning foam layer, wherein the forefoot protective plate is configured between the outsole and the insole, wherein the outsole has a lug groove between the ball section and middle section of the forefoot protective plate.

2. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the thinner portion of the forefoot protective plate is aligned between adjacent lugs of the outsole and with the lug groove between the ball section and middle section of the forefoot protective plate.

3. The shoe of claim 2, wherein the thinner portion in the forefoot protective plate is a groove having a thickness of no more than 3 mm.

4. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the thinner portion in the forefoot protective between the ball section and middle section is a slit in the protective plate.

5. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the forefoot protective plate consists of a hard plastic consisting of nylon or TPU.

6. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the forefoot protective plate is a thermoplastic.

7. The shoe of claim 1, further comprising a midfoot protective plate coupled with the forefoot protective plate.

8. The shoe of claim 1, comprising a thinner portion between the forefoot protective plate and the midfoot protective plate.

9. The shoe of claim 8, wherein the thinner portion between the forefoot protective plate and midfoot protective plate is a groove having a thickness of between 0.5 mm and 3 mm.

10. The shoe of claim 1, further comprising a heel protective plate coupled with the midfoot protective plate.

11. The shoe of claim 10, comprising a thinner portion between the midfoot protective plate and the heel protective plate.

12. The shoe of claim 1, further comprising a removable cushioning material between the protective plate and the insole.

13. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the protective plate made of hard plastic is harder than the cushioning foam configured to provide protection of a foot in said shoe from impacts of rocks on the outsole.

14. A shoe comprising; a) an outsole, wherein the outsole has a plurality of lugs and lug grooves located between the lugs for improved traction, wherein the lug grooves are thinner than the lugs; b) an upper coupled to the outsole and extending over the outsole; c) an insole configured for placement within the shoe and comprising: i) a protective plate, said protective plate comprising: a forefoot protective plate located over a forefoot portion of said shoe and comprising: a ball section comprising of hard plastic; a middle section comprising of hard plastic; and a lateral section comprising of hard plastic; wherein the middle section is located between the ball section and the lateral section; wherein the forefoot protective plate comprises a separation between the ball section and lateral section; wherein the insert is a removable insert for insertion and removal from the shoe; ii) a cushioning foam layer, wherein the forefoot protective plate is configured between the outsole and the cushioning foam layer, wherein the outsole has a lug groove between the ball section and middle section of the forefoot protective plate.

15. The shoe of claim 14, wherein the protective plate made of hard plastic is harder than the cushioning foam so as to provide protection of a foot in said shoe from impacts of rocks on the outsole.

16. A shoe comprising a protective plate, said protective plate comprising: a) a forefoot protective plate located over a forefoot portion of said shoe and comprising: i) a ball section having a thickness of 0.5 to 5 mm; ii) a middle section having a thickness of 0.5 to 5 mm; and iii) a lateral section having a thickness of 0.5 to 5 mm; wherein the middle section is located between the ball section and the lateral section; wherein the forefoot protective plate is a single piece of material and comprises a separation between the ball section and lateral section; said shoe comprising: a) an outsole having a plurality of lugs and lug grooves located between the lugs for improved traction; wherein the lug grooves are thinner than the lugs; wherein the outsole has a lug groove between the ball section and middle section of the forefoot protective plate; b) an upper coupled to the outsole and extending over the outsole; c) an insole comprising a cushioning foam layer; wherein the forefoot protective plate is configured between the outsole and the insole; and wherein the thinner portion of the forefoot protective plate is aligned between adjacent lugs of the outsole and with the lug groove between the ball section and middle section of the forefoot protective plate.

17. The shoe of claim 16, wherein the forefoot protective plate consists of carbon fiber reinforced plastic.

18. The shoe of claim 16, wherein the protective plate is harder than the cushioning foam and adapted to provide protection of a foot in said shoe from impacts of rocks on the outsole.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

(2) In the attached figures, like elements are numbered alike.

(3) FIG. 1 shows a bottom plan view of footwear showing the approximate location of protective plates for the forefoot according to the present invention;

(4) FIG. 2 shows a top plan of the footwear showing three toe compartments according to the invention;

(5) FIG. 3 shows a side elevation view thereof;

(6) FIG. 4 shows a bottom plan of the footwear with three relatively independent forefoot protective plates in a shoe with a single toe box;

(7) FIG. 5 shows a cross section of a forefoot protective plate that is completely divided into three separate pieces allowing for relative independence movement of each plate;

(8) FIG. 6 shows a cross section of a single forefoot protective plate that is divided into three sections corresponding to the ball, middle portion and lateral portion of the foot by varying the thickness of the plate to allow for relative independence movement of each plate as the shoe bends to fit the varying contour of the ground;

(9) FIG. 7 shows a cross section of a forefoot protective together with the foam mid-sole and an outsole.

(10) FIG. 8 shows a perspective bottom view of removable insoles with forefoot protective plates.

(11) FIG. 9 shows a side view of the removable insoles with forefoot protective plates.

(12) FIG. 10 shows a bottom view of the major bones and nerves in the foot.

(13) FIG. 11 shows a diagram of the anatomy of a foot.

(14) FIG. 12 shows a cross-sectional view of an exemplary protective plate.

(15) FIG. 13 shows a cross-sectional view of an exemplary insole comprising an exemplary protective plate.

(16) FIG. 14 shows a cross-sectional view of an exemplary insole comprising an exemplary protective plate.

(17) FIG. 15 shows a cross-sectional view of an exemplary protective plate comprising pores.

(18) FIG. 16 shows a cross-sectional view of an exemplary protective plate comprising pores.

(19) FIG. 17 shows an exemplary shoe having an exemplary protective plate configured therein.

(20) FIG. 18 shows a graph of hardness values for different types of materials.

(21) Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the figures. The figures represent an illustration of some of the embodiments of the present invention and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner. Further, the figures are not necessarily to scale, some features may be exaggerated to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention. 1. Toe compartment for large toe; 2. Toe compartment for middle two toes; 3. Toe compartment for lateral two toes; 4. Forefoot protective plate for ball of forefoot; 5. Forefoot protective plate for middle section of forefoot; 6. Forefoot protective plate for lateral section of forefoot; 7. Middle section of mid-foot protective plate; 8. Lateral section of mid-foot protective plate; 9. Heel section of protective plate; 10. Cavity for foot; 11. One iteration of adjustable straps to hold footwear securely to foot; 12. Out-sole; 13. Single toe cap as found on a typical footwear; 17. Large outsole lugs typical for trail running shoes; 18. Foam midsole; 19. Insole constructed from EVA, Polyurethane or other foam, cork or other similar material; 20. Toes and phalange bones; 21. Metatarsal bones; 22. Neuroma between middle and lateral pairs of phalanges and metatarsals; 23. Normal nerve between phalange and metatarsal of the large toe and the middle pair of metatarsals

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

(22) As used herein, the terms comprises, comprising, includes, including, has, having or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Also, use of a or an are employed to describe elements and components described herein. This is done merely for convenience and to give a general sense of the scope of the invention. This description should be read to include one or at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it is obvious that it is meant otherwise.

(23) Certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described herein and are illustrated in the accompanying figures. The embodiments described are only for purposes of illustrating the present invention and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the invention. Other embodiments of the invention, and certain modifications, combinations and improvements of the described embodiments, will occur to those skilled in the art and all such alternate embodiments, combinations, modifications, improvements are within the scope of the present invention.

DEFINITIONS

(24) A shoe bed is within a shoe and typically defined by the area above the outsole and defined by the perimeter of the outsole is configured within the interior volume created by the upper.

(25) As shown in FIG. 1, a protective plate 70 comprises a forefoot protective plate 104, a mid-foot protective plate 107 and a heel protective plate 9. The protective plate insert 32 may be configured for insertion and removal within a shoe. The forefoot protective plate is a composite protective plate 35 comprising three distinct protective plate sections, a ball section 4, a middle section 5 and a lateral section 6. The mid-foot protective plate is also a composite protective plate 35 comprising a middle section 7 and a lateral section 8. The forefoot protective plate may be attached to the mid-foot protective plate and the mid-foot protective plate may be attached to the heel protective plate. The protective plate 70 may be an integral protective plate, whereby the protective plate is made from a single piece of material and may comprise thin portions 42 between protective plate sections, such as the forefoot 104, mid-foot 27 and heel 109 sections to increase flexibility. The protective plates may be coupled to a cushioning material 38 and may be configured as a protective plate insole 30 and the cushioning material may extend beyond the protective plates and have the shape of a foot-bed of a shoe, whereby the protective plate insole is retained by the foot bed perimeter 95 of the upper portion 92 of the shoe 90 as shown in FIG. 14. The protective plates have flexible elements 40-40 between portions or sections to increase flexibility. These flexible elements may be a flexible or elastic material such as plastic, urethane, an elastomer such as silicone or rubber and the like. A flexible element may be a cushioning material 38 that extends across two or more protective plate sections to act as a connecting material 50. A protective plate section, such as the forefoot portion or mid-foot portion may comprise flexible elements 40 to increase flexibility across the protective plate section. Sections of a protective plate may be attached to a connecting material 50, such as a sheet of plastic, and this connecting material may be coupled or attached to a cushioning material 38 to produce a protective plate insole that fits within a foot bed such as on top of an outsole.

(26) Referring now to FIGS. 2 to 4, an exemplary protective plate 70 is configured within a shoe 90. The protective plate is part of the shoe and is located above the bottom portion of the outsole 12 and extends over a portion of the foot bed 94. A cushioning material 38 is configured over the exemplary protective plate. The shoe 90 has straps 11, 11 to secure the shoe to the user's foot, and a cavity 10 for receiving the foot. This exemplary shoe has discrete toe compartments, a toe compartment for the large toe 1, a toe compartment for the middle toes 2 and a toe compartment for the lateral toes 3.

(27) As shown in FIG. 4, the exemplary protective plate 70 comprises a forefoot protective plate 104 having three sections, a ball section 4, a middle section 5 and a lateral section 6. A flexible element 40, 40 is configured between the discrete sections of the forefoot protective plate. The flexible element enables independent movement of the sections with respect to each other. The discrete sections of the forefoot plate may be coupled together by a connecting material 50, such as a plastic material, and the connecting material may be flexible and act as the flexible element between the discrete sections of the forefoot plate. The connecting material may be thinner than the discrete forefoot plate sections and may be a material that is softer, having a shore A value of at least 20 less than the shore A value of the protective plate sections. The forefoot protective plate is configured above the outsole 12 and within the foot bed 94. An insole may be configured over the outsole of the forefoot protective plate to provide cushioning and support of the foot.

(28) Referring now to FIGS. 5 to 7, a forefoot protective plate 104 comprises a ball section 4, a middle section 5 and a lateral section 6. A flexible element 40, 40 is configured between the discrete sections of the forefoot protective plate. As shown in FIG. 5, the flexible element is a slit 44 or perforations 43 in the protective plate material. The protective plate has a thickness 45 from a top surface 72 to a bottom surface 74 as shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 6, the flexible element 40, or connecting material 50, is a thin portion 42 between the discrete sections of the protective plate. The thin portions may have a thickness 46 which may be substantially thinner than the thickness of the discrete sections, such as at least about one half of the thickness of the discrete sections. As shown in FIG. 7, the forefoot protective plate 104 is configured between an outsole 12 and a cushioning layer, such as a midsole or insole 18, which may be a foam. The outsole has lugs that extend out to provide traction for running, such as is commonly found on a trail running shoe.

(29) Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, an exemplary protective plate 70 is part of an insole 19. The exemplary protective plate insole 30 comprises a forefoot protective plate 104, a midfoot protective plate 107 and a heel protective plate 9. The forefoot protective plate 104 has three sections, a ball section 4, a middle section 5 and a lateral section 6. The midfoot protective plate has a middle section 7 and a lateral section 8. The insole may couple the discrete sections of the protective plate together and may act as the flexible element 40, or connecting material 50 between the discrete protective plate sections. The insole may be shaped to support a user foot as best shown in FIG. 9 and the insole may be made of a thermally formable material, such as a foam, whereby the protective plate insole may be heated to an effective temperature and then placed in a shoe and formed around a person's foot inserted into the shoe. As shown in FIG. 8 and with reference to FIG. 10, the ball section of the forefoot plate is configured to extend at least partially under the interphalangeal joint, or where the first proximal phalange bone joins the metatarsal, under the ball of the foot. An exemplary ball section of the forefoot plate may be designed to be hinged or entirely separate from the other forefoot protective plate sections. The middle section 5 of the forefoot plate has a shape and is configured at least partially under the second and third interphalangeal joints and may extend at last partially under the second and third proximal phalanges and under the second and third metatarsals. The lateral section 6 of the forefoot plate has a shape and is configured at least partially under the fifth interphalangeal joint and may extend at last partially under the forth interphalangeal joint and may extend at least partially under the forth and fifth proximal phalanges and under the forth and fifth metatarsals. One or more of the ball, middle and lateral sections may extend substantially over the entire metatarsal.

(30) As shown in FIG. 10, a foot has a plurality of bones that extend from the heel and middle foot up to the end of the toes. The foot has a toe area 20 extending over the area comprising the phalange bones 26, and a metatarsal area extending along the length of the foot comprising the metatarsal bones 28. A neuroma 22 is shown formed between middle and lateral pairs of phalanges and metatarsals. A Normal nerve 23 is shown between phalange and metatarsal of the large toe and the middle pair of metatarsals. The length of the toe area and length of the metatarsal area will vary from person to person.

(31) FIG. 11 shows the bone structure of a foot. The bones are listed in Table 1. Note that digit I, the big toe, only has a distal phalange 223 and a proximal phalange 221, all the other digits, II-V, have a distal phalange 223, medial phalange and a proximal phalange 221. As described herein, the forefoot protective plate may be configured under the interphalangeal joint 225 between the metatarsal bone and the proximal phalange bone. The midfoot protective plate may be configured under the cuneiform bones, the cuboid bone and at least partially under the talus, calcaneus, and navicular bones. The heel protective plate may be configured under the calcaneus 202 and at least partially under the calcaneus 202, as well as any of the talus bones.

(32) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 201 Talus 202 Calcaneus 203 Navicular 204 Cuneiform I 205 Cuneiform II 206 Cuneiform III 207 Cuboid 221 Phalanges proximal 222 Phalanges medial 223 Phalanges distal 225 Interphalangeal joint 230 Metatarsal

(33) Referring now to FIGS. 12 to 16, an exemplary protective plate 70 has a thickness 73 from a top surface 72 to a bottom surface 74. A protective plate may comprise multiple layers of material that are different materials or a common material with different properties, such as hardness. For example, an exemplary protective plate may comprise a top layer 80, a middle layer 82, and a bottom layer 84, or layer closes to the outsole or bottom of the shoe. Each of these layers may have a different thickness and may have different hardness values. A top layer 80 having a thickness 81 may be a softer material than the middle or bottom layer. A middle layer 82, having a thickness 83, may have an intermediate softness that is between the top and bottom layers. The bottom layer 84, having a thickness 85, may be the hardest layer. As shown in FIG. 13, a protective plate 70 may comprise separate section 71, 71, that are coupled together by a connecting material 50, 50. The connecting material may act as a flexible element 40 to allow independent movement of the separate protective plate sections. A connecting material 50, may extend over the top surface 72 of the protective plate and may be a cushioning material 38. A connecting material 50 may extend along the bottom surface 74 of the protective plate and may have a high friction surface 64 to prevent slippage and movement of within a shoe. Discrete protective plate sections may be coupled together by a connecting material to form a protective plate insole 30. As shown in FIG. 13, there may be a space of gap 46 having a gap width 47 between the two protective plate sections to allow independent movement of the discrete protective plate sections. A protective plate or section of a protective plate may have any number of flexible elements or gaps that extend along the length and/or across the protective plate to provide additional flexibility. For example, one or more of a forefoot protective plates may have a slit, gap or connecting material that extends from a location proximal the mid-foot or mid-foot protective plate to the extended end of the forefoot protective plate, or the end proximal the end of the toes. A forefoot protective plate may be discrete sections that are separate from the mid-foot protective plate to the extended end. A forefoot protective plate may be separate or independent from a mid-foot protective plate and may have a slit, gap or connecting material that extends from one side to the other, such as along the length of the foot or toes for example. As shown in FIG. 14, a connecting material 50 may be configured within the gap between the discrete protective plate sections. A single connecting material may extend over the top surface, the bottom surface and/or within the gap between discrete protective plate sections to connect the protective plate sections together.

(34) As shown in FIG. 15, an exemplary protective plate 70 comprises pores 110, such as air-bubbles and may be a foam material. Processing of a foam, such as a styrene foam which can be made relatively hard having a hardness of greater than about 40 shore A, may produce a foam with a gradient of pores from a top surface 72 to the bottom surface 74. The gradient may be in pore volume concentration, size and/or quantity of pores. As shown in FIG. 15, the concentration of pores is highest toward the top surface 72 and lowest toward the bottom surface 74. The bottom surface may have very few pores and/or be substantially a full density material having less than 5% void volume. The top layer 80, or portion, may have a higher concentration of pores, such as at least 10% or more. The difference in the volumetric concentration of pores between the top and the bottom layers or portions may be 50% or more, 100% or more, 200% or more and any range between and including the difference values provided. A foam may have a skin layer that may have a hardness as defined herein, such as greater than about 40 or 50 Shore A durometer. A protective plate having a skin layer or near full density layer toward the bottom surface and 74 and pores 110 toward the top surface may provide protection and cushioning in one integral material.

(35) As shown in FIG. 16, an exemplary protective plate 70 comprises filler 112, such glass particles, or glass spheres. Processing of filled plastic can produce a composite plastic having a gradient of filler concentration through the thickness as shown. As shown in FIG. 16, the concentration of filler is highest toward the bottom surface 74 and lowest toward the top surface 72. The bottom layer 84, or portion, may have a volumetric concentration of filler that is at least double that of the top layer 80 or portion of the protective plate. The difference in the volumetric concentration of filler between the bottom and the top layers or portions maybe 50% or more, 100% or more, 200% or more and any range between and including the difference values provided.

(36) As shown in FIG. 17, an exemplary shoe 90 has an upper portion 92 a foot bed 94, an outsole 12 and a length from a heel end 96 to a toe end 98. A protective plate 70 is configured within the shoe foot bed and is a protective plate insert 32, such as a protective plate insole 30.

(37) As shown in FIG. 18, a chart shows the hardness value for a variety of materials including rubber, and polymeric materials such as polyurethanes, and plastics. As shown, a hard protective plate has a Shore A hardness of 50 to 80 and an extra hard protective plate has a Shore A hardness of 80 to 100. Note that plastics can have a hardness from Shore A 20 or less to more than 140 on the Rockwell R scale. An exemplary protective plate or the sections thereof, may comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of a plastic that has a Shore A hardness of at least 40 and preferably greater than 50 and may be comprised of formable plastic such as EVA.

(38) These problems and deficiencies of the prior art are overcome or alleviated by the invention that provides novel and non-obvious rock protection plate for the forefoot, along with insole, mid-sole, outer sole and toe-box devices for increased protection, freedom of movement, sensitivity and response. The invention provides three protective pads or plates comprised of various combinations of outsole, harder plastic (typically nylon, TPU, rubber or similar material) protective rock plate and foam midsole. These components may be formed separately or together. The three forefoot plates provide extra protection for the three groups of bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons in the forefoot. These groups correspond to the ball of the foot, the middle group, and the lateral group. In some iterations of the footwear, the three protective pads and plates are combined with the three separate compartments for the toes. This arrangement has the advantage of increasing the independence of movement, sensitivity and response of the three sets of toes and three related parts of the forefoot and the coordination between each of the toes and parts of the forefoot.

(39) The invention provides for separate insoles that incorporate protective plates for the forefoot, mid-foot, and/or heel. Insoles for running and walking footwear are currently manufactured and sold separately for shoes. The invention provides the novelty of incorporating one or more protective rock plates into the manufacture of the insole. In addition to incorporating forefoot plates designed to provide semi or complete independence for the three parts of the forefoot, we also claim invention of insoles with a single forefoot, mid-foot, and/or heel protective plate. These insoles can be easily installed or removed, thereby giving wearers of footwear designed for running on relatively smooth surfaces and minimalist footwear the ability to add additional protection against injury from rocks by inserting the insoles with protective plates and then removing the insoles at a later time when running on a smooth surface such as a road and the extra protection is no longer needed. This represents a significant increase in utility of insole construction. The insoles are shaped to fit shoes with a single toe-cap or to fit shoes with two, three, four or five separate toe compartments.

(40) The invention additionally provides a footwear including a sole, an upper, and a arrangement of straps, laces or other devices configured to secure the footwear to the foot of a wearer, where the sole and the upper delimit three toe compartments configured to receive, retain, and allow articulation of corresponding individual toes and pairs of toes inserted in the footwear. These three toe compartments allow a high degree of movement, sensitivity and response by the large toe, along with the middle and the lateral pairs of toes. The sole may include contouring and curvature which corresponds to the shape of the foot, and where the sole, midsole and upper are disposed to provide an enhanced range of movement, proprioceptive sensitivity and haptic response to the wearer.

(41) In one paradigm case, the sole is comprised of an exterior sole with lugs for improved traction made of a rubber material of approximately 2-15 mm in thickness, a protective plate of a harder nylon TPU, plastic, rubber or similar material that varies between 1-3 mm in thickness, and a foam midsole of 2-20 mm in thickness. The layers needed in a given kind of shoe and the particular thickness of each layer depend upon the intended use of the footwear. The width, length, and shape of the forefoot protective plate or plates may vary depending upon the intended purpose of the footwear and other factors including the size and shape of the foot of the intended wearer. Shoes designed for running on padded tracks will typically have fewer layers or less material in the sole, while those designed for use on rough trails will have more protection and padding. The arrangement of the protective plates and pads can be made with variable thicknesses of the harder plastic, rubber or other similar material so that the thicker portions will be located directly below the most sensitive bones in the forefoot, and the thinner portions on the borders between the three areas to allow for relative independence of movement, sensitivity and response. In other iterations, the three pads may be partially or completely separated from one another in the process of constructing the shoe.

(42) These features and advantages of the apparatus and method will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art from the drawings and

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(43) It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention. Specific embodiments, features and elements described herein may be modified, and/or combined in any suitable manner. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications, combinations and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.