Patents by Inventor John G. Fruncek

John G. Fruncek has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5781443
    Abstract: An apparatus for use in assembling kits of parts for use in manufacturing where workers pick the components or parts from bins that are stocked with the parts. The apparatus includes sensing means to detect the presence of a worker's hand in a bin and a display indicates the number of components in a bin that are to be retrieved or picked for a kit for a particular product. Once the sensing means senses the presence of a worker's hand in a bin, the display will be automatically dimmed for a predetermined time which is proportional to the number of components or parts which are to be taken from the bin. The apparatus is preferably configured so that adjacent modular units will not interfere with one another with respect to the sensing functionality and the sensing operation by the three detectors in each modular unit are also time multiplexed so that interference among the three is not experienced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 14, 1998
    Inventors: William L. Street, John G. Fruncek