JPH0133322B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a disposable chopstick manufacturing apparatus that divides a bamboo tube cut into a predetermined length and cuts it into the shape of disposable chopsticks.

Disposable chopsticks made of bamboo material are manufactured through a process as shown in FIG. First, bamboo is cut into a certain size to form a bamboo tube 1a as shown in FIG. 1A, which is divided into strip-shaped bamboo pieces 1b as shown in FIG. 1B, and then the inner surface of this bamboo piece 1b is Cut the outer surface and both sides to obtain a piece of bamboo 1 with a constant width and a constant thickness as shown in Figure 1C.
Let it be c. Next, one side of the bamboo piece 1c is cut 1d into two rows of semicylindrical holes as shown in FIG. 1D, leaving the upper end intact.

Next, the other side of the bamboo piece 1d is also cut in the same way in a step 1e corresponding to the bamboo piece 1d.

The remaining portion of the upper end becomes the head 2, and two rows of semicylindrical valleys pass through as split grooves 3 since they are cut from both sides. Finally, the lower end of the bamboo piece 1e is cut into a tapered shape to produce disposable chopsticks 1f as shown in FIG. 1F.

Conventionally, the manufacture of disposable chopsticks was carried out using dedicated machines for each process.

For example, the step of dividing a bamboo tube 1a as shown in FIG. 1A to form bamboo pieces 1b as shown in FIG. A step of forming a piece of bamboo 1c with a constant width and thickness, and cutting both sides of the piece of bamboo 1c into two rows of semicylindrical holes leaving the head part 2 to form the original shape 1e of disposable chopsticks as shown in the figure DE. The process and the process of cutting the tip of the original shape 1e into a tapered shape to complete the disposable chopsticks as shown in FIG. F are all carried out using dedicated machines.

Therefore, manufacturing disposable chopsticks requires several types of specialized machines and manpower, which has the disadvantage of being impossible and uneconomical.
This made disposable chopsticks made of bamboo expensive, and was a factor preventing demand from increasing.

In view of these points, the present invention provides a disposable chopstick manufacturing apparatus that consistently manufactures disposable chopsticks from bamboo tubes to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks. A bamboo splitting device is provided with a pressing platform that faces the splitting blade and can move forward and backward to the splitting blade; An inner cylinder is provided in the cylinder so as to be rotatable concentrically, a discharge passage is provided horizontally at the bottom of the outer cylinder, and a bamboo piece pressing rod is provided in the discharge passage so as to be able to move in and out from the tangential direction of the passage. A bamboo piece alignment mechanism having a stopper provided in the longitudinal direction of the outer circumference of the inner cylinder, and a movable table and a fixed table that are movable up and down continuously arranged in parallel in the discharge passage of the outer cylinder of the bamboo piece alignment mechanism, A bamboo piece supply mechanism is provided with a scraper that can move forward and backward on the movable table and the fixed table, and a base is provided in a direction perpendicular to the fixed table of the bamboo piece supply mechanism, and a movable rod is mounted on the base. A bamboo piece forming mechanism is provided with a side cutting blade and a top and bottom cutting blade on the left and right, top and bottom pairs on a base within the movement range of the movable rod, and the bamboo piece forming mechanism is provided with a Consisting of a disposable chopstick forming mechanism in which a locking claw is continuously provided along the base so that it can move back and forth, and an upper blade and a lower blade in which two semicircular blades are arranged in parallel within the range of movement of the locking claw. It is characterized by this.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 to 8.

Fig. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the entire disposable chopstick manufacturing apparatus, which can be roughly divided into bamboo splitting device A, material supply device B, bamboo piece alignment mechanism C, bamboo piece supply mechanism D, bamboo piece forming mechanism E, and disposable chopstick forming mechanism F. It consists of

The bamboo splitting device A is a device that splits a bamboo tube 1a as shown in FIG. 1A and forms bamboo pieces 1b as shown in FIG.
As shown in Figure A, this is a device that automatically supplies bamboo tubes 1a.
This is a mechanism that aligns and sends out the bamboo pieces that have been divided by the bamboo piece alignment mechanism C with a predetermined plane in a fixed direction. It is a mechanism that feeds the mechanism E,
The bamboo piece forming mechanism E cuts the inner, outer and both side surfaces of the sent bamboo piece 1b as shown in Fig. 1B, and forms it into a bamboo piece 1c of a constant width and constant thickness as shown in Fig. 1C. The disposable chopstick forming mechanism F sequentially cuts both upper and lower surfaces of the bamboo piece 1c formed by the bamboo piece forming mechanism E into two rows of semicylindrical holes as shown in FIG. 1C. As shown in Figure DE, the original shape of disposable chopsticks is formed.

Figure 3 shows the bamboo splitting device A, 11 is the base;
A rail 12 is laid horizontally on the base 11, and a split blade 13 is installed at one end of the rail 12.
2. It is removably installed facing inward in the longitudinal direction.
Further, a press base 14 is provided on the rail 12 so as to be freely movable so as to face the split blade 13 .

The divided blade 13 has a plurality of blade bodies 13a arranged conically radially from the center.
4 is a radial cutting groove 15a corresponding to the split blade 13;
The rail 1 has a cylindrical shape 15 with a perforated hole at its tip, and the rail 1 is supported by rotatably supported rollers 16.
It is designed to run on top of 2. This press base 1
A cylinder 17 is connected to 4, and the cylinder 17
It reciprocates on the rail 12. This reciprocating movement is automatically performed by being switched by limit switches (not shown) provided at appropriate positions at both ends of the rail 12.

FIG. 4 shows a material supply device B installed on the side of the rail 12, and 18 is a storage shelf that is inclined forward as a whole, and the storage shelf 18 is cut in the middle to form a stepped portion 18a. A bamboo dropping device 19 is provided on the cut step portion 18a.

The bamboo dropping device 19 is a bamboo tube 1a on the storage shelf 18.
The bamboo is dropped one by one onto a bamboo feeding device 22, which will be described later.The actuating plate 20 is provided to be movable up and down, and the rollers are pivotally supported on the actuating plate 24 through the engagement of an engaging element 23 provided on the bamboo feeding device 22, which will be described later. 21 to push up the bamboo tube 1a that was locked to the stepped portion 18a and cause it to slide down from the storage shelf 18.

The bamboo feeding device 22 is provided below the storage shelf 18 at approximately the same height as the bamboo splitting device A, and receives the bamboo tubes 1a falling from the storage shelf 18 and supplies them to the bamboo splitting device A. By the way, base 11
A roller 24 is rotatably supported on the roller 24.
A conveyor table 25 is mounted on the conveyor table 25 so as to be freely movable, and a pinion 26 connected to a prime mover (not shown) is engaged with a rack 27 provided on the lower surface of the conveyor table 25.
reciprocate. The transport platform 25 has a link 28,
29 is pivotally supported in the center and provided vertically at intervals, and at the tips of these links 28 and 29, a dogleg-shaped receiving frame 3 is attached.
0 and 31 are provided facing each other, and the lower receiving frame 31 extends long forward.

At the rear ends of the links 28 and 29, rollers 32 and 32 are pivotally supported, facing each other, and a triangular control plate 33 is provided between the rollers 32 and 32, and the control plate 33 is provided with a conveyor via a piston rod 35. A cylinder 34 provided on the base 25 is connected to the rear end of the links 28 and 29, and a spring 36 is provided at the rear end of the link 28, 29 to urge the control plate 33 inwardly so as to engage in response to the inclination thereof. Therefore, the receiving frames 30 and 31 facing the tips of the links 28 and 29
When the control plate 33 moves forward, it opens by lever action (Fig. 4B), the bamboo tube 1a is guided and placed on the receiving frame 31, and when the control plate 33 moves backward, it closes and opens the bamboo tube 1a. The bamboo tube 1a is clamped (FIG. 4A), and in this state, the conveyor table 25 is moved forward to supply the bamboo tube 1a.

Figure 5 shows the bamboo piece alignment mechanism C and the bamboo piece supply mechanism D.
shows.

The bamboo piece alignment mechanism C divides the bamboo tube 1a into bamboo pieces 1.
b is arranged with the inside facing up, and the base 11
A solid inner cylinder 37 is rotatably supported concentrically within a cylindrical outer cylinder 36 adjacent to the front of the split blade 13 provided in the cylindrical outer cylinder 36. The spacing is approximately a little wider than the thickness of the bamboo pieces 1b.

A through hole 40 is formed in the bottom of the outer cylinder 36 horizontally through which a bamboo strip 1b discharge passage 38 and a bamboo strip pressing rod 39 pass through on the opposite side of the passage 38 in the tangential direction. Further, the inner cylinder 37 is provided with a stopper 41 along its outer periphery in the longitudinal direction, and a pinion 42 is fixed to its center shaft, and a rack 43 that reciprocates in the horizontal direction is engaged with the pinion 42. .

The bamboo piece pressing rod 39 and the rack 43 are connected to a cylinder 44 via a two-pronged piston rod 45, and the cylinder 44 moves the rack 43 to the right and rotates the inner cylinder 37 counterclockwise, as shown in FIG. When the stopper 41 rotates from position A to the position almost directly below, the bamboo piece pressing rod 39 moves horizontally inside the outer cylinder 36 from the through hole 40 in conjunction with the rack 43, and at a certain position, the bamboo piece pressing rod 39 moves inside the outer cylinder 36 in a horizontal direction. This causes the inner cylinder 37 and the bamboo piece pressing rod 39 to move back and return to their original position.

The bamboo piece supply mechanism D feeds the bamboo pieces that have been aligned and sent out by the bamboo piece alignment mechanism C to the next bamboo piece forming mechanism E, and discharges the outer cylinder 36 of the bamboo piece alignment mechanism C. It is connected to the passage 38 and provided.

Reference numeral 45 denotes a movable table which can be raised and lowered and is connected to the discharge passage 38 of the outer cylinder 36. A cylinder 46 is connected to the movable table via a piston rod 47, and the same height position as the discharge passage 38 is raised and lowered. It can be raised and lowered freely as a point (upper limit). Next to the movable table 45,
A fixed table 48 is arranged in parallel adjacent to the height position of the top dead center of the movable table 45. Above the movable table 45 and the fixed table 48, the table 4 is placed at a distance approximately the thickness of the bamboo piece 1b.
5. Raise the guide rods 49 and 50 parallel to 5 and 48.
1 and 52 so that it can be moved upwardly. A hanging scraper 53 is provided above the right end of the fixed table 48, and the scraper 53 is connected to a cylinder 54 via a piston rod 55, and reciprocates to extend beyond the movable table 45. Therefore, by the downward movement of the movable table 45, a step is formed between it and the fixed table 48, and the bamboo pieces that have been aligned and sent out by the bamboo piece alignment mechanism C are stopped by the step and transferred to the movable table. Also, by the upward movement of the movable table 45, it becomes horizontal with the fixed table 48, and by the backward movement of the extended scraper 53, the bamboo pieces on the movable table 45 are moved from the movable table 45 to the fixed table. 48 can be transferred in parallel.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a bamboo piece forming mechanism E and a chopstick forming mechanism F, and the bamboo piece forming mechanism E processes the inner surface, outer surface, and both sides of the bamboo piece 1b sent from the bamboo piece supplying mechanism D. The bamboo piece 1c is formed into a bamboo piece 1c having a constant width and a constant thickness by cutting the surface thereof, and is provided adjacent to the fixing table 48 of the bamboo piece supplying mechanism D in a direction perpendicular to the fixing table 48. This bamboo piece forming mechanism E is provided with a base 56 adjacent to the fixed base 48 at the same height in a direction orthogonal to the fixed base 48, with the top of the base 56 serving as a passage for the bamboo piece 1b. A movable rod 57 is provided in the passage above 56 so as to be reciprocally movable, and a reciprocating mechanism 58 is connected to the movable rod 57.

The reciprocating mechanism 58, for example,
A support body 59 having an elongated hole 60 is fixed to one end of the support body 59, and a pin 63 protruding from one end of a swinging rod 61 that swings about a pivot 62 is slidably engaged with the elongated hole 60. A long hole 64 bored in the center of the swinging rod 61 has a pin 66 protruding from the flywheel 65 at an appropriate position.
The flywheel 65 is slidably engaged with the flywheel 65, and a prime mover (not shown) is connected to the flywheel 65. Also,
The support body 59 is connected to the support bodies 86 and 8 of the locking claws 84 and 85 of the disposable chopstick forming mechanism F, which will be described later, via the connecting rod 67.
It is connected to 7 and moves back and forth at the same time.

Reference numerals 68 and 69 indicate side cutting blades provided on the base 56, which are arranged oppositely on the left and right so as to sandwich the passage on the base 56 with an interval corresponding to the width of forming the bamboo piece 1b. When the piece 1b passes through, both sides of the piece 1b are cut and formed into a constant width.

Reference numerals 70 and 71 indicate upper and lower cutting blades which are provided vertically and oppositely at intervals suitable for the wall thickness for forming the bamboo piece 1b on the base 56, and when the bamboo piece 1b passes through these, the upper and lower surfaces of the bamboo piece 1b are cut. It is cut and molded to a certain thickness.

The side cutting blades 68 and 69 and the top and bottom cutting blades 7
0 and 71 may be provided at the same position facing each other laterally or vertically, but it is preferable to shift them back and forth in order to reduce the resistance during cutting.

72, 73 are pressure rollers rotatably provided behind the side cutting blades 68, 69 and the upper and lower cutting blades 70, 71, which are always urged against the base 56 by springs 74, 75, and the cutting blades 68, 69, This is to prevent the bamboo piece 1b from being pressed and displaced when cutting the bamboo piece 1b at 70 and 71.

The disposable chopstick forming mechanism F cuts the upper and lower surfaces of the bamboo pieces 1c formed by the bamboo piece forming mechanism E into two rows of semicylindrical holes to form the original shape of disposable chopsticks.

Reference numeral 76 denotes a plane stand for cutting the upper surface, and numeral 77 indicates a plane stand for cutting the lower surface, both of which are arranged opposite to each other with their positions shifted back and forth, and the plane stands 76 and 77 are respectively provided with an upper blade body 78 and a lower blade body 79. Planer stands 76 and 77 are
One end is rotatably supported and the springs 80, 81
always biases inward. The upper blade body 78 and the lower blade body 79 are semicircular blade bodies 78a as shown in FIG.
and 79a are arranged in parallel, and the upper blade body 78
is attached downward, and the lower blade body 79 is attached upward,
When the bamboo piece 1c passes here, the upper surface is cut by the upper blade 78 and the lower surface by the lower blade 79 into two rows of semicylindrical holes.

Reference numerals 82 and 83 are semicircular indexing cams rotatably provided on the planer stands 76 and 77, which are always restored to the illustrated position by springs 90 and 91, and when the bamboo piece 1c passes through these, the corresponding Touch the cams 82, 83 and raise the planer bases 76, 77 against the springs 80, 81 to release the bamboo pieces 1c from hitting the upper and lower blade bodies 78, 79, and take out the head 2 of the disposable chopsticks. The bamboo piece 1c rotates under the resistance of the bamboo piece 1c, and when it comes to a flat surface, it is pushed by springs 80 and 81, the planer stands 76 and 77 are restored, and the bamboo piece 1c is cut.

84 and 85 are locking claws provided on the supports 86 and 87 connected to the connecting rod 67;
The reciprocating mechanism is pivotally supported and can rotate in a certain direction, but cannot rotate in other directions as it is stopped by a stopper, and is always urged by springs 88 and 89 so as to return to the position shown in the figure. It reciprocates at 58.

Next, the effect will be explained.

First, the bamboo tubes 1a to be divided are placed on the storage shelf 18 of the material supply device B. Bamboo tube 1a is storage shelf 18
Because it is tilted, it moves and tries to fall, but it is stopped by the step 18a and does not fall (FIG. 4A). Therefore, when the conveyance table 25 of the bamboo feeding device 22 is moved back, the engaging element 23 pushes up the roller 21 pivotally supported on the actuating plate 24 and moves the actuating plate 24 upward, thereby causing the bamboo tube 1a that has been locked to the stepped portion 18a to move upward. Since the bamboo tube is pushed up to release the lock, the bamboo tube slides down along the slope of the storage shelf 18 and falls onto the receiving frame 31 (FIG. 4B).

When the bamboo tube 1a falls onto the receiving frame 31, the transport platform 2
When the control plate 33 is moved forward, the receiving frames 30, 3
1 moves forward while holding the bamboo tube 1a against the spring 36 (Fig. 4A). At this time, the actuating plate 24 is
Since the engagement with the engaging element 23 is released, it moves downward and returns to its original state. Therefore, the bamboo tube 1a also sequentially rolls to the stepped portion 18a, completing preparations for the next fall (FIG. 4A).

When the bamboo tube 1a is moved between the dividing blade 13 and the pressing table 14 of the bamboo splitting device A, the pressing table 14 is moved forward by the cylinder 17, and the bamboo tube 1a is moved between the dividing blade 13 and the pressing table 14.
to press against. (Figure 3). At this time, cylinder 34
The control plate 33 is pushed forward and the receiving frames 30 and 31 are opened by the spring 36 to release the bamboo tube 1a, and the conveyor table 25 is moved back to its original position, and the above-mentioned operation is repeated.

The bamboo tube 1a pressed against the dividing blade 13 is divided by the dividing blade 13, and each blade body 13a, 13a is divided by the dividing blade 13.
It is inserted between the outer cylinder 36 and the inner cylinder 37 of the bamboo piece alignment mechanism C (FIG. 5A). Outer cylinder 36 and inner cylinder 37
Since the distance between the bamboo pieces 1b is only slightly wider than the wall thickness of the bamboo piece 1b, the divided bamboo pieces 1b overlap between the outer cylinder 36 and the inner cylinder 37, or are turned upside down. They are arranged in a ring shape around the outer periphery of the inner cylinder 37 with the inner surface facing inside (FIG. 5A).

Then, when the inner tube 37 is rotated counterclockwise by the cylinder 44, the bamboo pieces 1b are stopped by the stopper piece 41 and are discharged from the discharge passage 38 in a lined manner. At the same time, the bamboo piece pressing rod 39 is also moved forward by the cylinder 44, pushing out the bamboo pieces 1b while keeping them aligned, and moving them onto the movable table 45 of the bamboo piece supplying mechanism D (fifth
Figure B). At this time, the movable table 45 is moved downward, and a step is formed between it and the fixed table 48, and at that step, the bamboo piece 1
b is locked, so the bamboo piece 1b pushed out by the bamboo piece pressing rod 39 is always placed on the movable table 45. Therefore, the cylinder 54 is used to extend the scraper 53 to a position beyond the movable base 45 as shown in FIG. When the scraper 53 is returned to its original position, the scraper 53 hooks the bamboo piece 1b on the movable table 45 and moves it onto the fixed table 48 (FIG. 5C). At this time, the first of the aligned bamboo pieces 1b is located in the passage on the base 56 of the bamboo piece forming mechanism E.

Therefore, when the movable rod 57 is moved forward by the reciprocating mechanism 58, the movable rod 57 pushes out only the first bamboo piece 1b and moves it along the path on the base 56 (the sixth
figure). When the bamboo piece 1b is pushed and moved on the base 56 by the movable rod 57, the bamboo piece 1b is exposed to the side cutting blades 68, 69 and the upper and lower side cutting blades 70, 71 of the bamboo piece forming mechanism E.
pass through the part. During this passage, the bamboo piece 1b is cut on both sides and the upper and lower surfaces, and is formed into a bamboo piece 1c of a constant width and a constant thickness (FIG. 6).

Next, the locking claws 84 and 85 of the disposable chopstick forming mechanism F are pushed when the bamboo piece 1c passes through these parts.
8 and 89, allowing the bamboo piece 1c to pass through, but after passing, the bamboo piece 1c is restored to its original state at 88 and 89, and acts to prevent it from rotating in the other direction.

Therefore, when the bamboo piece 1c formed by the bamboo piece forming mechanism E is further pushed and moved by the movable rod 57,
The bamboo piece 1c passes through the locking claw 84.

It is moved by the movable rod 57 up to this point.

Then, the bamboo piece 1c is locked by the locking claw 84 (FIG. 7A), so when it is moved forward,
First, the top surface of the bamboo piece 1c is cut by the upper blade 78 as shown in FIG. 8A.
It is cut into two rows of semicylindrical holes like this.

At this time, the bamboo piece 1c contacts the cam 82 and the spring 80
Since the planer stand 76 is lifted up against the force, the upper blade body 78 does not work, and when the cam 82 rotates due to the resistance of the bamboo piece 1c and comes to a flat surface, it is pushed by the spring 80, the planer stand 76 is restored, and the upper blade body 78 is Because I work, I use the cam 82 and the plane stand 76.
While lifting the chopsticks, the head 2 of the disposable chopsticks will not be cut.
The remaining portion is cut as shown in Fig. 1D. Next, after cutting with the upper blade body 78, the bamboo piece 1d passes through the next locking claw 85, and the rear part of the bamboo piece 1d is locked with the locking claw 85 (Fig. 7B), so that it moves further. If you let
This time, the lower surface of the lower blade body 79 is connected to the upper blade body 7.
8, the chopsticks are cut into two rows of semicylindrical shapes, leaving the head 2 (FIGS. 7C and 8B), to form the original shape 1e of disposable chopsticks as shown in FIG. 1E.

The tip of this original shape 1e is cut into a tapered shape using a special machine, and disposable chopsticks 1f are completed as shown in FIG. 1F.

As described above, according to the present invention, everything from the bamboo tube to the original shape of disposable chopsticks is automatically formed.
It is highly productive, requires less manpower, is efficient and economical, and can provide disposable chopsticks at low cost.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a manufacturing process diagram of disposable chopsticks, Figs. 2 to 8 show embodiments of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a schematic illustration of the whole, Fig. 3 is a front view of the bamboo splitting device, and Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the manufacturing process of disposable chopsticks. Figures A and B are front views of the material feeding device in different operating states; Figures A, B, and C are front views of the bamboo piece alignment mechanism and bamboo piece supply mechanism in different operating states; Figure 6 is a front view of the bamboo piece forming mechanism and the disposable chopstick forming mechanism, Figures 7 A, B, and C are front views of essential parts of the disposable chopstick forming mechanism in different operating states, and Figures 8 A, B. is an enlarged front view of the main parts of the upper blade body and the lower blade body of the disposable chopstick forming mechanism. A... Bamboo splitting device, B... Material feeding device, C... Bamboo piece alignment mechanism, D... Bamboo piece feeding mechanism, E... Bamboo piece forming mechanism, F... Chopstick forming mechanism, 11... Base ,1
3... Divided blade, 14... Pressing stand, 18... Storage shelf, 19... Bamboo dropping device, 22... Bamboo feeding device, 36... Outer cylinder, 37... Inner cylinder, 38... Discharge passage, 45...Movable base, 48...Fixed base, 53...
...Scraper, 56...Base, 57...Movable rod,
68, 69... Side cutting blade, 70, 71... Top and bottom cutting blade, 76, 77... Planer stand, 78, 79...
Upper blade body and lower blade body.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A bamboo splitting device that is provided with a pressing base that faces a dividing blade provided in a radial conical shape and can move forward and backward to the dividing blade, a material feeding device that supplies a bamboo tube to the bamboo splitting device, and division of the bamboo splitting device. An inner cylinder is provided concentrically and rotatably in a cylindrical outer cylinder continuous with the blade, and a discharge passage is provided horizontally at the bottom of the outer cylinder, and a piece of bamboo is inserted into the discharge passage from the tangential direction of the passage. a bamboo piece alignment mechanism including an extrusion rod that can be freely moved in and out, and a stopper provided in the longitudinal direction of the outer circumference of the inner cylinder; and a movable platform that is movable up and down in succession to the discharge passage of the outer cylinder of the bamboo piece alignment mechanism. and a fixed base are arranged in sequence in parallel, and a bamboo piece supply mechanism is provided with a scraper that can move forward and backward on the movable table and the fixed base, and a base is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the fixed base of the bamboo piece supply mechanism. A bamboo piece molding comprising: a movable rod reciprocally provided on the base; and side cutting blades and upper and lower cutting blades facing left and right and top and bottom on the base within the range of motion of the movable rod. A mechanism, an upper blade body and a lower blade body in which a locking claw is provided along the base in succession to the bamboo piece forming mechanism so as to be movable back and forth, and two semicircular blade bodies are arranged side by side within the range of movement of the locking claw. A disposable chopstick manufacturing device comprising a disposable chopstick forming mechanism provided with a disposable chopstick forming mechanism.