Patents by Inventor Marion Billingsley GRANT, JR.

Marion Billingsley GRANT, JR. 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: 10401845
    Abstract: A system is provided for manufacturing a component within a factory. The system may have an autonomous vehicle configured to transport the component to an area within an open space of the factory and to secure the component at the area during processing of a designated volume of the component. The system may also have a plurality of processing modules each configured to process a portion of the component less than a whole of the designated volume, and a controller in communication with the autonomous vehicle and the plurality of processing modules. The controller may be configured to coordinate operations of the plurality of processing modules according to a programmed process plan.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Marion Billingsley Grant, Jr., Michael Patrick Vogler, Thomas Michael Garland
  • Patent number: 9879968
    Abstract: A system is disclosed for measuring a feature of a component. The system may have a probe with a tip, and a sensing element configured to generate signals associated with a proximity of the tip to the feature. The system may also have an actuator configured to move the probe relative to the component, and a controller in communication with the sensing element and the actuator. The controller may be configured to generate a deviation report based on the signals, and to filter information from the deviation report according to wavelength into a plurality of deviation categories corresponding to specification requirements of the component. The plurality of deviation categories may include at least a waviness category. The controller may also be configured to determine a change to a process used to fabricate the component based on the information from the deviation report filtered into the waviness category.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Marion Billingsley Grant, Jr., Richard Griffith Marsh
  • Publication number: 20170192415
    Abstract: A system is provided for manufacturing a component within a factory. The system may have an autonomous vehicle configured to transport the component to an area within an open space of the factory and to secure the component at the area during processing of a designated volume of the component. The system may also have a plurality of processing modules each configured to process a portion of the component less than a whole of the designated volume, and a controller in communication with the autonomous vehicle and the plurality of processing modules. The controller may be configured to coordinate operations of the plurality of processing modules according to a programmed process plan.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 5, 2016
    Publication date: July 6, 2017
    Applicant: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Marion Billingsley Grant, JR., Michael Patrick Vogler, Thomas Michael Garland
  • Patent number: 9658047
    Abstract: A system is disclosed for use in measuring a component. The system may have a probe configured to generate signals associated with a proximity to actual target points of the component, an actuator configured to move the probe relative to the component, and a controller in communication with the probe and the actuator. The controller may be configured to receive coordinates of intended form target points, to determine coordinates of the actual target points of the component relative to a component datum based on the signals, and to make a comparison of the coordinates of the intended form target points and the coordinates of the actual target points. The controller may also be configured to generate a deviation report based on the comparison, and to filter information from the deviation report according to wavelength into a plurality of deviation categories corresponding to component specification requirements of the component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Marion Billingsley Grant, Jr., Richard Griffith Marsh
  • Publication number: 20160349039
    Abstract: A runout calibrator for use in measuring runout of a spindle of a machine tool using at least one hydrodynamic bearing includes a head assembly with a shaft adapted at a first end for mounting in a chuck of the machine tool and a head mounted to a second end of the shaft. The head has a reflective surface and at least one line of symmetry coincident with the centerline of the shaft. The runout calibrator also includes a sensor assembly with one or more optical sensors mounted orthogonal to each other for measuring a distance between each of the one or more sensors and the head.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2015
    Publication date: December 1, 2016
    Applicant: CATERPILLAR INC.
    Inventors: Richard G. Marsh, Rohit Arun Bhapkar, Marion Billingsley Grant, JR.
  • Publication number: 20160116268
    Abstract: A system is disclosed for use in measuring a component. The system may have a probe configured to generate signals associated with a proximity to actual target points of the component, an actuator configured to move the probe relative to the component, and a controller in communication with the probe and the actuator. The controller may be configured to receive coordinates of intended form target points, to determine coordinates of the actual target points of the component relative to a component datum based on the signals, and to make a comparison of the coordinates of the intended form target points and the coordinates of the actual target points. The controller may also be configured to generate a deviation report based on the comparison, and to filter information from the deviation report according to wavelength into a plurality of deviation categories corresponding to component specification requirements of the component.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 23, 2014
    Publication date: April 28, 2016
    Applicant: CATERPILLAR INC.
    Inventors: Marion Billingsley GRANT, JR., Richard Griffith MARSH
  • Publication number: 20160116269
    Abstract: A system is disclosed for measuring a feature of a component. The system may have a probe with a tip, and a sensing element configured to generate signals associated with a proximity of the tip to the feature. The system may also have an actuator configured to move the probe relative to the component, and a controller in communication with the sensing element and the actuator. The controller may be configured to generate a deviation report based on the signals, and to filter information from the deviation report according to wavelength into a plurality of deviation categories corresponding to specification requirements of the component. The plurality of deviation categories may include at least a waviness category. The controller may also be configured to determine a change to a process used to fabricate the component based on the information from the deviation report filtered into the waviness category.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 11, 2015
    Publication date: April 28, 2016
    Applicant: CATERPILLAR INC.
    Inventors: Marion Billingsley Grant, JR., Richard Griffith Marsh