Patents Examined by Ronald Jarrett
  • Patent number: 8979467
    Abstract: A crane having a toolless removable battery includes a crane and a removable battery. The crane preferable includes a lengthwise structural member, a pair of front wheels, a turnable rear wheel, a boom mount and a crane boom. A battery slot is created between the turnable rear wheel and the pair of front wheels and adjacent the turnable rear wheel. The removable battery includes at least three wheels. Four retention hooks are retained on opposing sides of the removable battery. Four retention posts extend from opposing sides of the battery slot for engagement with the four retention hooks. One end of a pair of lift straps extend from opposing ends of the removable battery and the other end of the pair of lift straps are secured to opposing sides of the crane boom. The crane boom is raised to lift the four retention hooks off the four retention posts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Inventor: Jeffrey H. Bailey
  • Patent number: 8974172
    Abstract: A boom has a central connection plate attached between a pair of side plates, and a rear portion side of a cover plate on a front boom portion and a front portion side of a cover plate on a rear boom portion are connected thereby. A pivoting support for a working tool cylinder used to move a working tool connected to a foremost portion of the front boom portion is provided on a front side of a top portion on each of the left and right side plates. The central connection plate is formed with a connection plate projection projecting from a front portion attached to the rear portion of the cover plate toward a midway portion so as to approach the pivoting support.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignee: Kubota Corporation
    Inventor: Ryoichi Nishi
  • Patent number: 8936293
    Abstract: A device for use in the semiconductor industry includes a robotic arm whose end effector includes electromagnetic means to hold a substrate carrier. A pushing member can move independently of a flat, spatula-like portion of the device and is configured to exert force against the substrate carrier while the spatula-like portion is retracted from the substrate carrier, after the substrate carrier has been brought to its intended position. In this manner, the position of the substrate carrier is maintained at its intended position as the spatula-like portion is retracted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2015
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Christopher O. Lada, Stuart Stephen Papworth Parkin, Mahesh Govind Samant
  • Patent number: 8936428
    Abstract: A bucket mounting system for efficiently attaching and removing a bucket attachment to a variety of different vehicles. The bucket mounting system generally includes a bucket configured with a pair of mounting bars extending parallel with respect to each other across the rear surface of the bucket. A pair of mounting brackets are provided which may be secured to the mounting bars via use of a pair of U-shaped locking members. Thus, the mounting brackets may be removably secured in a variety of positions on the rear face of the bucket to allow its mounting on a wide range of different vehicles such as loaders.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2015
    Inventor: James H. Page
  • Patent number: 8938044
    Abstract: A robotic tubesheet walker having two rails connected by a central hinge, wherein the central hinge can be opened or closed by an actuation device. Upon each rail is mounted a carriage, wherein each carriage can move along its respective rail toward or away from the central hinge by means of a drive mechanism. Each carriage further contains at least two “gripper” attachment mechanisms, such as camlocks, to grip the tubesheet. The grippers either insert into tube holes within the tubesheet to fasten the respective carriage to the tubesheet, or retract to disengage. Further attached to the central hinge is a tool support fixture, and attached to the tool support fixture is a coupler that holds maintenance or inspection tools.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2015
    Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
    Inventors: Lyman J. Petrosky, Phillip J. Hawkins
  • Patent number: 8931528
    Abstract: A stock feeder for woodworking equipment includes a base, a cross clamp, a horizontal bar unit, a vertical bar unit, a feeding unit, and an electrical unit. The electrical unit has an electrical unit main body and a variable-frequency drive. The electrical unit main body has a first housing, a plurality of heat dissipation grooves provided on the outer periphery of the first housing, and a power fan which is independently mounted on a top portion of the first housing and in communication with the heat dissipation grooves. The variable-frequency drive has a second housing, a variable-frequency circuit sealed in the second housing, and a control panel exposed outside the second housing. The second housing has an outer surface provided with a plurality of heat dissipation slots corresponding in position to and in communication with the heat dissipation grooves of the electrical unit main body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Inventor: Tai-Yuan Hsiung
  • Patent number: 8926257
    Abstract: A work machine includes a pivotable arm having a first gripping device formed therein, the arm operatively connected to an attachment for securing an object between the first gripping device and the attachment. A second gripping device is removably securable to the arm near the first gripping device, the second gripping device configured to at least partially secure an object between the second gripping device and the attachment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: CNH Industrial America LLC
    Inventors: Nathan Bradley, Matthew J. Hennemann, Michael R. Heiar, Bradley O'Connor, David J. Sanning, Matthew Wagenbach
  • Patent number: 8920108
    Abstract: A manipulator for transporting work pieces, especially between two subsequent molding presses of a press working line, including a moving mechanism allowing three dimensional movements on the path between the molding presses, a supplemental arm attached to the moving mechanism and connected to this moving mechanism via a support member that allows a swiveling movement of the supplemental arm around a vertical axis of the support member as well as a translation movement of the supplemental arm with respect to the support member, and a tool support provided at the outer end of a supplemental arm, the tool support being rotatable around a horizontal first axis and around a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, the tool support including a tool reception that is rotatable around a third axis perpendicular with respect to the second axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: Wilfried Strothmann GmbH Maschinenbau und Handhabungstechnik
    Inventors: Bernd Naumann, Markus Wessling-Schäfers
  • Patent number: 8899650
    Abstract: An adsorbent in a board conveying hand includes: a pad for adsorbing a board in contact with the board; and an elastic member interposed between the fork and the pad and provided with an adsorption passage for allowing an adsorbing fluid to pass between the fork and the pad, wherein a part of the elastic member is deformed, thus arbitrarily varying a projection amount of the pad from the fork.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Yaskawa Denki
    Inventors: Makoto Furuta, Toru Nakako, Tetsuya Yamasaki
  • Patent number: 8899906
    Abstract: A pallet fork including a frame and a fork tine. The frame supports a fork bar and a carriage plate. Further, the fork bar and the carriage plate extend in a longitudinal direction of the pallet fork. The fork tine is mounted to the fork bar. Also, the fork tine has a swingable motion and a lateral motion relative to the fork bar. Moreover, the fork tine includes a vertical leg and a horizontal leg. A bracket is attached to the vertical leg of the fork tine. A first locking member is selectively inserted in the bracket to engage the fork tine with the carriage plate and restrict the swingable motion of the fork tine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel Eugene Peschel, Andrew Lee Vering
  • Patent number: 8863930
    Abstract: A rotating range restricting mechanism that restricts the rotating range of a rotating body rotatable 360 degrees or more with respect to a supporting body includes: a swing member rotatably attached to the supporting body; a first restricting member abutting the swing member to restrict the swing range of one end of the swing member; a second restricting member abutting the swing member to restrict the swing range of the other end of the swing member; an engaging member fixed to the rotating body which engages with the swing member to allow the swing member to swing between a first restricting position and a second restricting position; a first magnetic holding mechanism that holds the swing member in the first restricting position with a magnetic attraction force; and a second magnetic holding mechanism that holds the swing member in the second restricting position with a magnetic attraction force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: Nidec Sankyo Corporation
    Inventors: Yasuyuki Kitahara, Shigeyuki Kaino
  • Patent number: 8840356
    Abstract: A workpiece transporting apparatus includes a hand, a rotating portion for rotatably holding the hand, an arm provided in the hand and having one end provided at the rotating portion, and a holding portion provided in the hand and provided to another end of the arm for holding a workpiece, in which a center portion of the holding portion is disposed with a predetermined interval from an axial line extended from a rotational center of the rotating portion toward another end of the arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2014
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masayuki Kaneko, Taro Nakamura, Takayuki Hasegawa
  • Patent number: 8834090
    Abstract: A system for attaching a grappling fork to a conventional bucket, where the grappling fork does not interfere with the normal use of the bucket. The grappling fork attachment system generally includes a support frame pivotally attached to a tractor between a bucket unit and a pair of loader arms, wherein the support frame may securely attach to either the bucket unit or the pair of loader arms through use of a locking element. An extension frame is pivotally attached to the support frame. A drive assembly comprised of a chain and sprocket configuration is provided one the extension frame for rotating and repositioning the extension frame. A grappling structure is pivotally attached to the extension frame for grabbing and securing a load within the bucket of the tractor. A pair of linkage assemblies are provided on the extension frame for pivoting the grappling structure about the extension frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Inventor: Albert C. Callens
  • Patent number: 8827626
    Abstract: A thumb assembly mountable to a stick of an excavator is provided. The thumb assembly comprises a base member having at least a first joint location, a thumb member pivotally connected to the base member, and first and second linkage members pivotally connected at their first ends to the thumb member and the joint location respectively. The linkage members are connected by a knee joint at their second ends such that they are foldable relative to each other between a working position and a storage position in which the thumb member extends close to the base member. The knee joint permits both relative rotation and relative sliding of the first and second linkage members so that the thumb assembly can be moved between the working position and the storage position without disconnecting the linkage members from the thumb member and the joint location on the base member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventor: Gregory A. Seljestad
  • Patent number: 8826521
    Abstract: Provided is a component placement machine including a rail (102) which extends along an X axis and slidably guides a head (101) along the X axis; an X beam (103) which has a bar shape, extends along the X axis, and has one side which is in a direction of a Y axis and on which the rail (102) is installed; and a Y beam (104) which extends along the Y axis and slidably guides the X beam (103) along the Y axis, and further including a reinforcement member (105) which acts against bending caused by difference in thermal expansion between the rail (102) and the X beam (103), is made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic, and is fastened, with first fasteners at three or more positions arranged along the X axis, to another side of the X beam (103) in the direction of the Y axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Kazuo Kido, Syoujirou Nishihara, Tatsuya Sano, Hidetoshi Suenaga, Takaki Fukami
  • Patent number: 8714901
    Abstract: A garbage can lifter having a pair of arms operatively connected to a handle, and a pair of pins secured to exterior surfaces of the pair of arms. The pair of arms is adapted to be operatively connected to one or more lifting arms of a tractor. The garbage can lifter also has a cross member secured to the pair of arms and the handle. The handle is positioned between the pair of arms and between interior surfaces of the pair of arms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2014
    Inventor: David Cordy
  • Patent number: 8666609
    Abstract: A tractor includes booms, lift cylinders, a hitch, dump cylinders, a magnetic valve, a speed-up circuit, and a speed-up restricting arm. The lift cylinders swing the booms upward and downward by an operating oil being supplied thereto. The hitch is provided to the booms to allow an implement to be attached thereto. The dump cylinders swing the implement upward and downward by the operating oil being supplied thereto. The magnetic valve switches between supplying the operating oil to the dump cylinders and supplying the operating oil to a grab cylinder provided in the implement. The speed-up circuit is able to perform a speed-up operation for increasing the flow rate of the operating oil supplied to the magnetic valve. The speed-up restricting arm is arranged near the speed-up circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2014
    Assignee: Yanmar Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Tetsuya Iida