Patents by Inventor William C. Steene

William C. Steene 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: 5501571
    Abstract: An automatic palletizer system loads a random set of different size and weight boxes onto a pallet without a prior knowledge of the boxes to be loaded. As the boxes pass along a conveyor belt on the way to the pallet, a weighing, dimensioning, and scanning station determines the weight, dimensions and contents of each box. A processor uses this information to continuously remap the optimal pallet configuration for the loading of the remaining boxes as the pallet is loaded. A queuing station, under direction of the processor, reshuffles the sequence of a limited number of boxes to improve the final pallet configuration. The pallet is loaded by a robot arm under direction of the processor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 1993
    Date of Patent: March 26, 1996
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: William Van Durrett, Gerald W. Hieronymus, Marguerite A. Pond, Todd D. Price, Margaret L. S. Scurry, William C. Steene