Patents Examined by Joseph Dillon, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11299358
    Abstract: A system for moving particles across a floor surface of a storage bin having a peripheral wall extending upwardly from the floor surface. The system may comprise a bin sweep apparatus having an inboard end for locating toward to a central area of the bin and an outboard end for locating toward a peripheral area of the bin. The system may also comprise a peripheral sweeping apparatus configured to mount on the bin sweep apparatus to sweep particles on the floor surface adjacent to the peripheral wall toward the bin sweep apparatus. The peripheral sweeping apparatus may be mounted on the bin sweep apparatus toward the outboard end thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2022
    Assignee: Sioux Steel Company
    Inventors: Andrew Grass, Elliott Strain
  • Patent number: 11286121
    Abstract: The invention is based on a device for aligning products (14), more particularly products moved by means of a transport device (12), more particularly to form rows and/or groups of the products (14) running transverse to a main transport direction (16) of the transport device (12), having at least one aligning unit (18) having at least one alignment element (20, 22, 24) that can be introduced into a gap that exists, more particularly along the main transport direction (16), between at least two of the products (14) in order to align the products (14), and having at least one straightening drive unit (26), more particularly a linear drive unit, at least to drive the at least one alignment element (20, 22, 24), said straightening drive unit having at least one movement element (28, 30, 32) that can be driven in an individually speed- and/or position-controlled manner, on which movement element the at least one alignment element (20, 22, 24; 20, 22, 24) is arranged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2022
    Assignee: SYNTEGON PACKAGING SYSTEMS AG
    Inventors: Alfred Wipf, Philipp Kathan
  • Patent number: 11279571
    Abstract: A system for instrument conveyance may include at least one handling unit configured to dispense or accept instruments; at least one head unit configured to obtain input from a user in connection with a transaction involving instruments, where the at least one head unit includes a presentation opening between an interior side and an exterior side of the at least one head unit; a transportation system disposed between the at least one handling unit and the at least one head unit; and a shuttle device configured to transport instruments between the at least one handling unit and the at least one head unit via the transportation system, where the shuttle device includes an internal compartment for containing instruments, and where the shuttle device is configured to expose the internal compartment to the exterior side of the at least one head unit via the presentation opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: Capital One Services, LLC
    Inventors: Steve Faletti, David Kelly Wurmfeld, Scott R Neilson
  • Patent number: 11273986
    Abstract: A conveyance roller 3 including a support shaft 31, a main rotating portion 34, and a sub rotating portion 35, and a driving body 50 that is in contact with the main rotating portion 34 and the sub rotating portion 35 and that supplies a rotational force to the main rotating portion 34 and the sub rotating portion 35 are provided, wherein the main rotating portion 34 and the sub rotating portion 35 are attached along the support shaft 31 and are rotatable independently of each other around the support shaft 31, the sub rotating portion 35 is not configured to contact an object to be conveyed but the main rotating portion 34 is configured to contact the object to be conveyed and bias the object to be conveyed, the driving body 50 is rotated by power around a rotation shaft 51 in a direction intersecting with the support shaft 31, the support shaft 31 is configured to change an orientation of the support shaft 31 by rotating around the rotation shaft 51, and the driving body 50 is in contact with the main rotat
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: Itoh Denki Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuo Itoh, Tatsuhiko Nakamura, Koji Ueda, Takuya Nagasawa
  • Patent number: 11261033
    Abstract: A combination weighing device includes a plurality of weighing units arranged in a circular form, a combination scale configured to temporarily retain, in a collection hopper, articles discharged from one or more of the weighing units selected as a result of combinatorial computations and to discharge the articles from the collection hopper, and an alignment and transport unit configured to align and vibrationally transport the articles discharged from the collection hopper.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: Yamato Scale Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takayuki Nagai, Ryo Shimizu
  • Patent number: 11261040
    Abstract: A conveyor for pulverized material comprises in combination a conduit, a screw rotatably mounted within the conduit having an material inlet end and material discharge end, means for rotating the screw, means for supplying material to the screw at the material inlet end, whereby the material will be compacted as it is advanced by the screw to the material discharge end, and means for admitting a gas under pressure to the compacted material at the material discharge end to render it fluent. In a portion of the screw a material seal is formed by the compacted material being advanced by the screw, wherein there are material pockets formed between adjacent screw flights, wherein the pocket size volume is at its maximum nearest the material inlet end and at its minimum nearest the material outlet end, with at least twice as many pockets of minimum size as of maximum size.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Inventor: Andrew Charles Fried
  • Patent number: 11259456
    Abstract: An agricultural product delivery applicator for delivering particulate product to a field. The applicator includes a supply compartment to hold the product, a pneumatic conveying system, a metering system, and a controller. The pneumatic conveying system includes first delivery line operably connected to an airflow source and to the supply compartment, and a second delivery line operably connected to the airflow source and to the supply compartment. The metering system includes a first metering device associated with the first delivery line and a second metering device associate with the second delivery line. The controller controls the air flow source, the first metering device to meter product to result in a first mixed flow of airflow and product for the first delivery line, and the second metering device to meter product with the airflow to result in a second mixed flow of airflow and product for the second delivery line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: CNH Industrial America LLC
    Inventors: Aaron Robert Tollefsrud, Sunil Vetal, Rex LeRoy Ruppert, Lyle Mangen
  • Patent number: 11259459
    Abstract: An agricultural product delivery applicator for delivering particulate product to a field. The applicator includes a supply compartment to hold the product and a pneumatic conveying system. The system includes an airflow source to provide an airflow, and a delivery line operably connected to the airflow source and to the supply compartment. The delivery line includes a supply line and a plurality of distribution lines. The system further includes a distributor coupling the supply line with the plurality of distribution lines, a motor disposed on the distribution lines side of the distributor, a shaft assembly rotatable by the motor, and a bearing supporting the shaft assembly on the supply line side of the distributor. The applicator further includes a metering system operably connected between the supply compartment and the pneumatic conveying system. The metering system meters product with the airflow to result in a mixed flow of airflow and product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: CNH Industrial America LLC
    Inventors: Rex LeRoy Ruppert, Nicholas R. Pederson, Charles O'Connell, Jeffrey Scot Martin, John Paul Honermann
  • Patent number: 11254519
    Abstract: A vehicle waste disposal system connected to a vehicle, the vehicle waste disposal system including a waste receiving container connected within a passenger compartment of the vehicle to receive at least one waste item therein, a waste storage container connected within a trunk of the vehicle to receive the at least one waste item from the waste receiving container and store the at least one waste item therein, a pipe connected at a first end to at least a portion of the waste receiving container and connected at a second end to at least a portion of the waste storage container, and an air dispensing unit connected to at least a portion of the waste receiving container and the pipe to move the at least one waste item from the waste receiving container to the waste storage container in response to extracting air from the waste receiving container and expelling the air into the pipe toward the waste storage container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Inventor: Garry Harris
  • Patent number: 11254520
    Abstract: A conveying system for pneumatically conveying plastic granulate comprises a feed location, at which the plastic granulate is fed into a conveying line by pressurized conveying gas, a target location, in conveying connection with the feed location, for moisture contained in the conveying gas, and a condensation tempering unit, which is arranged along a section or sections of the conveying line, for making the conveying line such temperature to at least partial condensation of moisture contained in the conveying gas to form a sliding film on an internal wall of the conveying line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Coperion GmbH
    Inventors: Bernhard Stark, Michael Dürr, Thomas Vögele
  • Patent number: 11241664
    Abstract: An apparatus for starting the flow of a compacted material from a hopper trailer is disclosed. The apparatus may include a means of substantially joining the apparatus with the rim of a hopper trailer, an auger shaft having flighting, and a means of turning said shaft on a longitudinal axis in order to displace compacted material and initiate the flow of same. In one embodiment, the auger shaft consists of an internal shaft capable of receiving segmented sleeves having flighting in order to allow for compatibility with a wide variety of hopper trailers. In another embodiment, the drive means of the apparatus may be operated by wireless control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: Feick Farms, LTD
    Inventor: Steve Feick
  • Patent number: 11230437
    Abstract: A feeding device for feeding products from a storage container on to a conveyor belt moving in a conveyor direction is provided wherein a feeding belt at a storage container opening on a lower side of the storage container receives products to be conveyed and transports them to an upper side of the conveyor belt, in order to deliver the products on to the conveyor belt in a feeding region on the upper side of the conveyor belt, the feeding belt has a number of holes, the dimensions of which are adapted to the products to be conveyed such that a respective product can fall through an associated hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Inventor: Nils Dickfeld
  • Patent number: 11229158
    Abstract: An exemplary diverter valve generally includes a shell, a pipe, and a handle. The shell includes a body extending in a longitudinal direction, a shell inlet port, a shell outlet port, and a positioning slot formed in the body. The pipe is seated in the body for sliding movement in the longitudinal direction, and includes a first passage and a second passage. The handle is connected to the pipe through the positioning slot, and is operable to move the pipe relative to the shell between a first position in which the shell inlet port is connected with the shell outlet port via the first passage, and a second position in which the second passage is connected with the shell inlet port and the shell outlet port is disconnected from the second passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: DEERE & COMPANY
    Inventors: Luc Janelle, David L. Steinlage, Ean M. Bush
  • Patent number: 11226062
    Abstract: A method of minimizing material mixing in a piping system during a transition between a first material and a second material includes providing a plurality of pipe pigs in a first pipe section with the plurality of pipe pigs being sufficient to substantially fill a cross-section of the first pipe section and to define a plug having a leading edge and a trailing edge such that the leading edge is in contact with a first material and the trailing edge is in contact with a second material. Each pipe pig has a nominal size that is smaller than an effective diameter of the first pipe section. The plug is moved through the piping system by moving the second material. Advantageously, mixing of the first material and the second material is inhibited by the plug.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: Tropicana Products, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey D. Mathews, Gerald Olean Fountain, Johnny Casasnovas
  • Patent number: 11219203
    Abstract: A product distribution system for sectional control in an air boom spreader has a solid product metering assembly having: a first endless conveyor and a second endless conveyor for conveying the product from the container to the air system, the first and second endless conveyors substantially parallel to each other, the first conveyor driven independently of the second conveyor; and, a first shaft, a second shaft and a third shaft, the first shaft parallel to, separated from and driven independently of the second shaft, the second shaft parallel to and separated from the third shaft, the first shaft driving the first conveyor, the second shaft driving the third shaft to drive the second conveyor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: Salford Group Inc.
    Inventors: Geof J. Gray, John Mark Averink, Bradley William Baker, Simon Goveia, Jesse Abram Dyck, Chad Derek Pasma, Adam Peter Lehman, Christopher Michael Poppe, Troy Michael Straatman
  • Patent number: 11214450
    Abstract: A proofing air jet having a hollow elongated body having an air outlet and a suction inlet, the air outlet opposing the suction inlet, a pressurized air inlet into the body between the air outlet and the suction inlet, the pressurized air inlet being angled with respect to the hollow elongated body to flow pressurized air in a direction from the pressurized air inlet to the air outlet and provide a suction at the suction inlet, the air outlet having an innerduct/microduct connector for connecting to an opening of the innerduct/microduct, and the suction inlet having a string inlet configured to accept string, and the method further comprising blowing air through the pressurized air inlet into the hollow elongated body and into the innerduct/microduct, wherein the air sucks the string through the string inlet and carries the string through the hollow elongated body and through the innerduct/microduct. A plurality of the proofing air jets can be connected to a manifold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: CCIIP LLC
    Inventor: Angelo J. Pino, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11212957
    Abstract: A planter includes a seed a delivery system for delivering seed from one or more hoppers to one or more row units of the planter. The seed delivery system includes a number of seed entrainers. The seed entrainers receive seed from the one or more hoppers. The seed is combined with a fluid, such as air, which moves the seed through the seed entrainer and towards one or more row units of the planter. The entrainer includes one or more outlets, with the outlets corresponding to different row units, and the outlets can be varied based upon the need of seed delivery for the planter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: Kinze Manufacturing, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Blackwell, Dan Killpack, Dalton McDowell, Matthew Wilhelmi
  • Patent number: 11208268
    Abstract: A transport system for transporting and/or positioning objects along a transport section, wherein the transport system includes at least one rotatable transport body having at least one curved transport path which is delimited by at least one curve flank pair and, as seen in the linear transport direction, has at least one positive curved transport path pitch throughout and into which there can engage or there engages at least one pusher dog of a carrier that is movable along the transport section, wherein the at least one transport body has at least one entry region for the entry of the at least one pusher dog into the curved transport path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: GLOBAL SYSTEMS SOLUTIONS GMBH
    Inventor: Thomas Knapp
  • Patent number: 11198564
    Abstract: A transport system has a mobile carriage for transport of products along a guide path that has a first guide profile and a second guide profile. A first pair of rollers is mounted rotatably on a first rotation shaft borne by the carriage, so as to engage the first guide profile. A second pair of rollers rotatably mounted on the second rotation shaft engages the second guide profile. For each roller of the first pair of rollers and for each roller of the second pair of rollers, a reinforcing element is provided which is friction-coupled to at least a part of the main portions of external lateral walls of the rollers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignee: MARCHESINI GROUP S.P.A.
    Inventor: Giuseppe Monti
  • Patent number: 11192714
    Abstract: A silo system includes a storage chamber, an intake pathway associated with the chamber, and a discharge pathway associated with the chamber. The system further includes one or more material sensors associated with the chamber, a plurality of actuators, and a controller that is communicatively coupled to the one or more material sensors and to the one or more actuators. The plurality of actuators enable a deposit of additional material from a transport container into the chamber through the intake pathway at least partially simultaneous with a discharge of material from the chamber through the discharge pathway into an operational silo. The material sensors provide indications of the amount of bulk material in the chamber and the controller is configured to control the one or more actuators in response to sensor data from the one or more material sensors to provide for deposit of material simultaneous with discharge of material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: SUPERIOR BULK, INC.
    Inventors: Corey Gathman, Bill Jondahl, Gary Curtis, Jeremy Jondahl, Joel Jondahl, Brad Belt