Patents Examined by Terrell Matthews
  • Patent number: 8807343
    Abstract: An apparatus (25) for use in screening a liquid and solids mixture feed (2) comprises a conduit (18), including a screening portion (22) that is formed and arranged to divide a liquid and solids mixture feed flowing through the conduit. The feed (2) is divided into a first, cleaned stream (C1) comprising liquid and solid particles of below a selected size limit, and a second, concentrated, stream (24) comprising liquid, and particles above the selected size limit. The apparatus (25) may be a stand alone module, part of a system with other solids and liquids separating equipment or an integral part of a solids and liquid separator such as a shale shaker. Methods of using the apparatus (25) are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Inventor: Marshall G. Bailey
  • Patent number: 8800776
    Abstract: An air jigging machine for dry processing of raw materials, an air supply conduit for supplying working air to an air funnel, and having a pulsing valve. At least two jigging-material carriers for receiving material from a material-feeding mechanism are configured to consecutively receive therethrough working air from the air funnel and to separate the material into heavy and light material layers. The jigging-material carriers are disposed one above the other and are spaced apart. A wall encloses this intermediate space. At least one bypass airline branches off from the air supply conduit downstream of the pulsing valve, bypasses the lower jigging-material carrier, and communicates with the intermediate space for supplying an additional working airflow thereto. Respective discharge devices are provided for the jigging-material carriers for the material layered thereon during a jigging process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: Allmineral Aufbereitungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Hans-Josef Linnhoff
  • Patent number: 8800775
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for treating materials containing a mixture of plastic materials and metal materials, said method including: —crushing the material to be treated; pyrolysis of the crushed material; a first magnetic separation performed on the pyrolysed material providing, on the one hand, a ferrous metal fraction and, on the other hand, non-ferrous residue; —a second magnetic separation performed on the non-ferrous residue providing, on the one hand, a non-ferrous metal fraction and, on the other hand, non-magnetic residue. The invention also relates to a facility for implementing said method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: Terra Nova
    Inventors: Christian Thomas, Joël Menuet, Gervais Vanhelle
  • Patent number: 8800779
    Abstract: A screen system having a plurality of screen elements that can be readily removed and replaced to vary one or more characteristics of the screen surface formed by the screen system. The screen system includes a support system for supporting at least one screen element to prevent deformation of the screen element that typically would occur due to the insufficient structural stability of the at least one screen element relative to the weight of the product being screened. Preferably, the support system includes one or more support elements that can be readily and easily installed and removed from the screen system. The support system is preferably configured to permit the one or more support elements to be positioned at different locations in the screen system. Preferably, the support system is configured to permit a variety of different support elements to be used to allow a greater variety of screen elements to be used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: Lumsden Corporation
    Inventor: Myron Henry Wardell
  • Patent number: 8789706
    Abstract: A conveyor device has a sequence of two vibrating screens vertically separated (d) from each other and supplying an alignment bowl, to eliminate chips and residue from nuclear fuel pellets stored in bulk in a boat and to align them in order to fill fuel rods. Due to these two screens, pellets are set aside and turned over, and chips are efficiently separated in a pot, without any congestion of the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2014
    Assignee: Areva NC
    Inventors: Jean-Luc Pandraud, Florian Reyrolle, Dominique Francois, Jerome Blancher
  • Patent number: 8783468
    Abstract: An apparatus for reclaiming abrasive blasting material comprises a prime mover, a vacuum pump and a separator unit for separating the abrasive blasting material in the contaminated abrasive blasting material from contaminants. The vacuum pick-up draws the contaminated abrasive blasting material. The separator unit includes a screening device for separating and reclaiming the abrasive blasting material. The screening device comprises a support member having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis, and an endless flexible screen belt mounted to the support member so as to be movable along an endless closed loop in the direction of the longitudinal axis. The screen belt has a plurality of openings being sized to allow particles of the abrasive blasting material of a desired size to fall therethrough by gravity and to prevent the contaminants larger than the abrasive blasting material from falling therethrough.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: Reco Atlantic, LLC
    Inventor: John Russell Roden
  • Patent number: 8778270
    Abstract: An apparatus for separating components and a method of separating components using the apparatus are provided. The apparatus includes: a main chamber which contains a sample that is separated into a plurality of layers by a centrifugal force; a component separating chamber which is connected to the main chamber, and receives a specific layer including specific components among the plurality of layers; a first channel which connects the component separating chamber to the main chamber; and a first channel valve which is disposed in the first channel to control a liquid flowing through the first channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jong-myeon Park, Byung-chul Kim
  • Patent number: 8770413
    Abstract: An inspection system is configured for use with a conveyer apparatus including carrier bars. Each carrier bar conveys pellet-shaped articles along a predetermined path. The inspection system includes at least one camera unit for sensing a predetermined characteristic of the pellet-shaped articles, a removal unit, and a controller. The removal unit, downstream from the at least one camera unit, removes selected pellet-shaped article(s) from the carrier bar(s) depending on whether the characteristic is sensed by the at least one camera unit. The controller is in communication with the at least one camera unit and the removal unit. The controller provides a signal to the removal unit in accordance with the sensed characteristic. The removal unit includes a rotatable ejection drum having extended vacuum nozzles along its length, equal to the number of articles conveyed in each carrier bar. Each vacuum nozzle selectively removes article(s) from the carrier bar(s) by suction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: Ackley Machine Corporation
    Inventors: E. Michael Ackley, Mark Ford
  • Patent number: 8772664
    Abstract: A method is specified for sorting flat mail items, which allows sorting according to delivery order to be carried out swiftly and reliably. With the method a first sorting pass is carried out in a first segment with at least N storage modules of a sorting device and a second sorting pass is then carried out in a second segment with at least N storage modules of the sorting device. The overflow items, which are assigned to a storage module that has been closed because it is full, are deposited into one of the other storage modules in the first sorting pass and are included in the sorting process of the second sorting pass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Armin Zimmermann
  • Patent number: 8765922
    Abstract: A method and associated device for enrichment of Neél-magnetic particles from a dispersion of Brown-magnetic particles and Neél-magnetic particles. The device and method use ferromagnetic separation particles having a mean diameter of 100 to 250 ?m located in a alternating magnetic field. The ferromagnetic separation particles have a magnetically and chemically inert coating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2014
    Assignee: Miltenyi Biotec GmbH
    Inventors: Jürgen Schulz, Daniel Michalek, Dirk Merkel, Stefan Miltenyi
  • Patent number: 8754345
    Abstract: A document sorting machine having dual feeders which feed documents onto common tiers of sort pockets form each end of the machine. The machine includes an induction buffer section which prevents a document already in the transport on a particular tier from colliding with a document being fed into the same transport by a different feeder. Also, the machine includes a serpentine piggy-back unit which can stack consecutive documents going to the same sort pocket.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2014
    Assignee: National Presort, Inc.
    Inventors: Brent A. Daboub, Constantine J. Possis
  • Patent number: 8714365
    Abstract: Fruit handling equipment comprising a conveyor having a plurality of linked carriages, each supporting at least one fruit carrying cup pivotally secured to the carriage, each cup having a latching mechanism operable to hold the cup in a fruit carrying mode and releasable to cause the cup to pivot to a delatched position to eject the fruit, and remotely controllable means in each carriage to release the latching mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2014
    Assignee: MAF Agrobotic
    Inventor: Bruce Thomas Morley
  • Patent number: 8714359
    Abstract: [Problem] To provide a rotating classifier which can keep classification performance high and which can prevent blockages caused by biomass and the like. [Means for Resolution] The rotating classifier is characterized in that: comb teeth-like protrusion portions protruding toward a fixed member side are provided on top of rotary classification fins at intervals along the circumferential direction of the rotating classifier fins; a first gap is provided between an upper end portion of each of the comb teeth-like protrusion portions and a lower surface of the fixed member; a second gap formed between a protrusion portion and a protrusion portion adjacent to the protrusion portion is connected to the first gap; and an air stream flowing from the radial outside to the radial inside of the comb teeth-like protrusion portions through the first gap and the second gap is formed due to the rotation of the rotary classification fins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2014
    Assignee: Babcock-Hitachi Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takashi Aizawa, Akira Baba, Yuki Kondo, Yutaka Takeno, Shinichiro Nomura
  • Patent number: 8714364
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a rotor for a screening apparatus and a rotor structure for a screening apparatus. The rotor structure is particularly suitable in screening fiber suspensions of the pulp and paper industry. The apparatus relates to a novel rotor construction, and especially to a novel means of fastening a turbulence element on the rotor surface. The rotor is provided with easily replaceable turbulence elements so that at least a part of the rotor has at least one area —having a surface configuration different from the remaining rotor surface, on which area the turbulence element is fastened.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2014
    Assignee: Aikawa Fiber Technologies Trust
    Inventor: Mathieu Hamelin
  • Patent number: 8714363
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for supplying filtered slush molding powder or other granular material using a material feeder and angled sieve. The feeder includes a feeding member for moving the granular material, a feeder loading region, and a feeder unloading region. The sieve is positioned relative to the feeder unloading region so that it receives the granular material exiting the feeder. The sieve is positioned at an angle of inclination greater than zero degrees. An agitator that causes vibration of the sieve can be included to help sift the granular material through the angled sieve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2014
    Assignee: Faurecia Interior Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Nick Bezuidenhout, Denis Perinet
  • Patent number: 8695808
    Abstract: In a method of sorting mailpieces, in which method the mailpieces sorted into the sorting outlets of a postal sorting machine are transferred from said sorting outlets to an unstacker magazine of the machine, or to an unstacker magazine of another sorting machine for the purpose of being sorted again into sorting outlets, said mailpieces are handled by means of shuttle trays of variable storage capacity for the purpose of transferring them from the sorting outlets to the unstacker magazine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Solystic
    Inventors: Bruno Cartal, Eric Moullard, Damien Hugues
  • Patent number: 8695805
    Abstract: The present disclosure is generally directed to vibratory separators that are used for processing drilling fluid, and in particular, vibratory separators that utilize electro-magnetic clamping apparatuses for attaching screen assemblies to a basket assembly. In one exemplary embodiment, an illustrative vibratory separator is disclosed which includes, among other things, a basket assembly having at least one screen support, and at least one screen assembly that is adapted to be releasably secured to the at least one screen support. Additionally, the disclosed vibratory separator also includes an electro-magnetic clamp apparatus that is adapted to releasably secure the at least one screen assembly to the at least one screen support when the electro-magnetic clamp apparatus is energized to a magnetized state, and to release the at least one screen assembly from the at least one screen support when the electro-magnetic clamp apparatus is de-energized to an un-magnetized state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: National Oilwell Varco, L.P.
    Inventors: Paul Dufilho, Eric Scott
  • Patent number: 8692148
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a container sorting system capable of increased sorting efficiency. The present invention discloses a device in which the distance is shortened between detection and ejection of containers being sorted by reflective infrared radiation, transmission infrared radiation, or both. The present invention also includes a method of operating such device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2014
    Assignee: National Recovery Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Edward J. Sommer, Jr., R. Lynn Conley, Robert H. Parrish
  • Patent number: 8678198
    Abstract: A measuring cup or measuring spoon, the bottom of which has a plurality of openings through which particles can be sifted and a top edge of which has a tab that when tapped allows a user to control the pattern that the particles are sifted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Inventor: Diane D'Andrea
  • Patent number: 8674252
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method of optimizing a process for handling mail, which method comprises the following steps: subjecting mailpieces to a first machine-sorting cycle in which a plurality of first sorting outlets are allocated to respective ones of a plurality of first delivery destinations having high rates of filling and one other sorting outlet is allocated to second delivery destinations having low rates of filling; directing separators to the first sorting outlets; re-circulating the mailpieces coming from the other sorting outlet; and subjecting them to a second sorting cycle in which the first sorting outlets are allocated to the second delivery destinations. If the sorting outlets use storage bins, at the end of the second sorting cycle, the mailpieces of a first destination and the mailpieces of a second destination are sorted in layers in the same bin by being separated by a separator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: Solystic
    Inventors: Didier Tresse, Nicolas Basset, Jacques Petit