Patents Examined by Joe Dillon, Jr.
  • Patent number: 7220082
    Abstract: A pneumatic transport system including a user terminal at a service provider station having a movable member operably connected with a flexible drive member. The drive member moves within at least one side rail to vertically displace the movable member to permit access to a carrier at the user terminal. The user terminal includes control mechanisms on opposite sides of a base to enable two users to operate and access the carrier at the user terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2007
    Assignee: Diebold, Incorporated
    Inventors: Todd Christian, Neil Gromley, Gary Baker, Daniel S. McIntyre, Donald S. Nelson, Jr., Edward J. Ujhazy, Jr.
  • Patent number: 7219610
    Abstract: A grate plate arrangement for step grates includes box-like grate plates (4) positioned on a grate carrier (2) with a front plate (24) placed on its end wall (18) and fastened to the end wall (18) using one or more studs (26) screwed to the grate plate (4). The bolt head (32) of each stud (26) is countersunk into a recess (34) built into the front plate (24) and covered on the outside by covering (cover 38) and secured against unscrewing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2007
    Assignee: IKN GmbH
    Inventor: Karl von Wedel
  • Patent number: 7207428
    Abstract: A conveyor device for containers having multiple narrow lanes formed by guide railings adjustable horizontally across the direction of conveyance, with horizontally adjustable sensors for the containers arranged above the narrow lanes across the direction of conveyance. The adjustable sensors are coupled to the guide railings in such a way that they are necessarily adjusted along with an adjustment of the guide railings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2007
    Assignee: Krones AG
    Inventor: Johann Hüttner
  • Patent number: 7204361
    Abstract: An escalator with steps having a tread surface and riser surface has riser brushes arranged at the riser surface. The riser brushes provide a barrier for the gap which is normally present between the tread surface of a first step and the riser surface of an adjacent step. The riser brushes may be mounted to a brush strip which is guided along the riser as the steps transfer between vertical and horizontal travel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2007
    Assignee: Inventio AG
    Inventor: Thomas Illedits
  • Patent number: 7204363
    Abstract: A machine for inspecting bottles which has a conveyor for conveying bottles at a first velocity. A bottle spacing mechanism receives bottles conveyed by the conveyor at a first location and releases bottles on the conveyor at a second downstream location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2007
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventor: Stephen M. Giometti
  • Patent number: 7200922
    Abstract: A first mounting unit and a second mounting unit capable of performing component holding, component recognition, and component placement for two boards independently of each other are provided. A first conveyance path for loading and unloading the first board, and a second conveyance path for loading and unloading the second board, are independently arranged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Kabeshita, Naoto Mimura, Noriaki Yoshida, Yoshihiko Misawa, Takeyuki Kawase, Tetsutarou Hachimura, Toshiro Nishiwaki, Taira Ishii, Mitsuo Kawate, Hideaki Watanabe
  • Patent number: 7198148
    Abstract: A modular plastic conveyor belt of the type made up of a multiplicity of module rows connected by interdigited link ends secured by pins has camming members at selected locations on the bottom surface of the belt to provide a flight dynamically. The camming members preferably are connected to two successive connecting pivot pins and hang down below the belt at an oblique angle during regular belt travel, sliding through grooves formed in the supporting track. At locations where a raised flight is desired to move products along with the belt, the camming member engages track structure so as to raise two module rows into an upwardly pitched roof-like configuration to form a flight. Hold-downs preferably are included before and after the location of the two involved module rows, to hold the belt flat to the support track or platform except at the flight itself.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2007
    Assignee: Habasit AG
    Inventor: Christopher Witkus
  • Patent number: 7198145
    Abstract: A pusher has a retaining member disposed within an opening in the pusher cap, a fastening member secured to the pusher base and a fuse element interposes between the retaining member and the fastening member, the fuse element failing upon the application of an undesirable level of force to said pusher cap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2007
    Assignee: Intelligrated, Inc.
    Inventors: Allen Brown, Martin Heit, Justin Zimmer
  • Patent number: 7195299
    Abstract: A storage box for a cargo bay of a vehicle including a conveyor on which items, e.g., tools and materials, are stored. The conveyor is actuatable to move the items in a pre-selected direction, preferably toward the side or rear of the vehicle cargo bay to provide easy access to the items. In another aspect, the storage box includes fold-out shelving. The shelving includes multiple panels hinged together. A first panel is hingedly connected to an intermediate panel, which is hingedly connected to a second panel, which is pivotally connected to the storage box. The panels are operable in (a) a collapsed mode, where the panels fold substantially vertically against one another, and (b) an extended mode, where the first panel moves outwardly to a substantially vertical position and the intermediate and pivot panel pivot downward to a substantially horizontal position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2007
    Assignee: Steffens Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventors: Charles J. Steffens, James P. Sheeran
  • Patent number: 7191891
    Abstract: Device for moving products from a loading station to an unloading station. Carriers on which containers for the products are arranged move along a guide in the direction of transport. The drive is implemented with the aid of a toothed belt and each carrier is provided with a locking pawl that is hingeably fixed thereto and that can come into engagement with the toothed belt. The locking pawl is furthermore provided with a tab on which an operating element, such as a cylinder, firmly fixed to the transport device is able to engage. A second set of teeth constructed as a toothed belt is present and this is arranged in a stationary position. The carrier is provided with a wheel running in this toothed belt. This wheel is provided with a non-return clutch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Inventor: René Michaël Hoveling
  • Patent number: 7191895
    Abstract: A conveyor system, such as an induction subsystem for supplying articles to a sortation subsystem, and method of conveying articles includes providing a conveying surface for conveying a series of articles and at least one sensor for sensing the articles on the conveying surface. A control is provided which establishes at least one parameter for each of the articles and controls the conveying surface as a function of the at least one parameter of each of the articles. The control includes a computer and a program for the computer. The program includes at least one probability estimator. The control determines the at least one parameter of each of the articles at least in part by the at least one probability estimator. The control controls gaps between articles or synchronizes arrival of articles at the sortation system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Assignee: Dematic Corp.
    Inventors: David W Zeitler, Martin R Doane, Douglas L Milliman
  • Patent number: 7192222
    Abstract: The invention describes a method of use of a conveying apparatus for the pneumatic conveyance of sized glass fibers, the sized glass fibers having a size extractability of at most 85%, preferably at most 50% and with particular preference at most 40%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Assignee: Lanxess Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Robert Hubertus Van Mullekom, Detlev Joachimi, Matthias Bienmüller, Herbert Grasshoff, Maarten De Bock
  • Patent number: 7191889
    Abstract: A remote controlled swing auger system for efficiently manipulating a position of a swing auger. The remote controlled swing auger system includes a swing auger connectable to a main auger, a swing hopper connected to the swing auger, a plurality of front wheels and a plurality of rear wheels rotatably attached to the swing hopper, a drive motor mechanically connected to the front wheels, a control unit in communication with the drive motor, and at least one controller in communication with the control unit. The controller may be comprised of a manual controller and/or a remote controller. The user is able to pivot the swing hopper with respect to a main auger by using the remote controller while in the tractor or in a remote location away from the augers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Inventor: Kenneth J. Heley
  • Patent number: 7185754
    Abstract: A conveyor (10) that delivers product to a plurality of transverse conveyors of chutes (11). The conveyor (10) includes conveyor segments (12) along which the product is conveyed. Product is removed from the conveyor (10) by the lateral displacement of an upstream end 15 or a downstream end 16 of adjacent conveyor segments (12).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2007
    Assignee: TNA Australia Pty Limited
    Inventors: Alfred Alexander Taylor, Garry Ronald MacKay
  • Patent number: 7182201
    Abstract: A wafer carrying apparatus 20 for carrying intermediate products comprises: a conveyer 40 for carrying the intermediate products in the carrying direction; and a plurality of platforms 41 arranged in the conveyer 40 along the carrying direction of the intermediate products on the conveyer 40, each platform 41 being capable of mounting at least one intermediate product at a position in a direction crossing the carrying direction of the intermediate products on the conveyer 40.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2007
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hisashi Fujimura, Shuji Tanaka, Yoshitake Kobayashi, Yasutsugu Aoki
  • Patent number: 7182553
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method of delivering a fine particle dispersion in the state of laminar flow from an inlet port to an outlet port of a microflow channel having the inlet port and the outlet port, the fine particle dispersion containing fine particles having a volume average particle size of from about 1.5 ?m to about 1000 ?m dispersed in its liquid medium, the specific gravity of the fine particles being from approximately 0.10 to 0.99 times that of the liquid medium, wherein the microflow channel is disposed such that the outlet port is disposed above the inlet port in the buoyant force direction, and the angle of the flow channel from the inlet port to the outlet port is set to from approximately 0 to 45° relative to the buoyant force direction, and wherein the fine particle dispersion is introduced into the inlet port and the introduced fine particle dispersion is delivered to the outlet port. Also disclosed is a device for delivering the fine particle dispersion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2007
    Assignee: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Seiichi Takagi, Kazuki Inami, Tetsuo Ohta
  • Patent number: 7182552
    Abstract: Provided are a method for delivering a fine particle dispersion which makes it possible to flow the fine particle dispersion, as a stable flow, in a microflow-channel without sedimentation, being deposited on the bottom face of the inner surface of the channel or blocking up or clogging the channel, so as to give a high efficiency for recovering the fine particles; and a device for delivering a fine particle dispersion which can be used for a long period of time and which makes it possible to flow the fine particle dispersion as a stable flow in a microflow-channel without sedimentation, being deposited on the bottom face of the inner surfaces of the channel or blocking up or clogging the channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2007
    Assignee: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Seiichi Takagi, Tetsuo Ohta
  • Patent number: 7178661
    Abstract: An overhead rotatably powered conveyer drive shaft has ridges inter-engaged with skewed driven wheels mounted for free rotation on a load carrying carriage to trace a helical loci of engagement and improve traction. The ridges are preferably extruded to be parallel. The driven wheels may also have extruded parallel ridges or have an elastic peripheral surface deformed elastically into spaces between adjacent drive shaft ridges during normal conveying to provide the inter-engaging.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2007
    Inventor: Charles P. Tabler
  • Patent number: 7168546
    Abstract: An inexpensive, high capacity, and easy to install roller for engaging hot metal plates being transferred over a cooling bed plate transfer grid. An invertible block which may have a bearing is provided at each end of the axle for the roller. The bearing block is received in a cut-out in the upper edge of a respective elongate parallel grid member. The bearing block is clamped in the cut-out by a plate which is received in a pair of slots in forward and aft edges of the cut-out to clampingly overlie the bearing block. A lip on each of the bearing blocks is positioned and sized to abut a lateral surface of a respective grid member and a shoulder on the axle engages the bearing block for preventing movement laterally of the bearing, whereby the roller is restrained from movement axially.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2007
    Inventor: Ronald L. Plesh, Sr.
  • Patent number: 7168557
    Abstract: A side-flexing conveyor chain module includes a first module member having at least two first link ends, a second module member having at least two second link ends, and linkages linking at least one of the first link ends to at least one of the second link ends. Separating the chain module into module members and linking the module members together by linkages distributes the chain tension across the width of the chain module, and thus the hinge pin joining adjacent chain modules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2007
    Assignee: Rexnord Industries, LLC
    Inventors: Robert E. Mitchell, James C. Stebnicki