Patents Examined by William E. Terrell
  • Patent number: 6550635
    Abstract: A portable folded wiper dispensing system for dispensing flexible sheets from a stack of sheets. The system includes a refillable apparatus and a stack of sheets. The refillable apparatus is composed of: 1) a relatively flat, flexible base devoid of dispensing slots, the flexible base being adapted to resiliently fold along a fold axis; and 2) a flexible cover defining an opening aligned in parallel relation to the fold axis of the flexible base such that the flexible cover is attached to said flexible base and is adapted to contain a stack of sheets. The opening defines a dispensing slot through which flexible sheets may be individually dispensed while the flexible base remains unfolded. When the flexible base is folded back along the fold axis, the opening defines a refill gap through which a stack of flexible sheets may be inserted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.
    Inventors: Timothy James King, James Justin Beech, Neville John Pryke
  • Patent number: 6364517
    Abstract: A device which can reduce the workload on operators during replenishment and stocktaking of drugs stored in a drug dispenser. The drug dispenser has a memory for storing data on the initial number of drugs in each of the drug feeders, a processor for calculating the number of drugs currently remaining in each drug feeder by subtracting the number of drugs discharged from each feeder from the initial number of drugs in each drug feeder, and a display for displaying the name of drugs if the number of drugs currently remaining in any drug feeder is smaller than a predetermined value. With this arrangement, an operator can easily see which drug feeders are short of drugs without directly checking the respective feeders by removing them from shelves. The workload on operators for drug replenishment is thus reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2002
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Yuyama Seisakusho
    Inventors: Shoji Yuyama, Naoki Koike, Hirohisa Shimizu
  • Patent number: 6168305
    Abstract: System for controlling the discharge rate of a material feeder. A weight scale connected to the material is sampled and the samples input to a digital processor. The digital processor determines for consecutive time intervals during discharge of said material, a weight loss over the time interval. The weight loss for the interval is compared with a desired weight loss which is calculated from a desired setpoint material discharge rate obtained only when the weight loss is constant and stable. The resulting error is averaged with subsequent errors to form a control signal for the material feeder. The calculation of errors over each subsequent interval increases the resolution of the control signal, increasing the ability to control discharge rates to compensate for changes in material density which otherwise affect discharge rates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2001
    Assignee: Merrick Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: Lars T. Marmsater
  • Patent number: 6155559
    Abstract: A device in a sheet delivery for accommodating flat printed products, the device having a lowerable auxiliary sheet stack frame arranged between two side walls of the sheet delivery, includes respective lifting devices to which the auxiliary stack frame, at respective corner locations thereof, is articulatedly connected, a movable auxiliary stack receiving element mounted on and completely surrounded by the auxiliary stack frame, the auxiliary stack frame being of a length in a sheet travel direction substantially equal to twice the length of the auxiliary stack receiving element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2000
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Rainer Klenk
  • Patent number: 6151533
    Abstract: According to a collation method of stocker storage in a semiconductor wafer cassette transportation apparatus having high semiconductor wafer cassette transportation ability, a host computer responds to an instruction from an operator to interrogate a stocker controller about storage of a semiconductor wafer cassette in a stocker. The stocker controller receiving the interrogation reports storage of a semiconductor wafer cassette in a stocker to the host computer. When the storage information retained by the host computer differs from the storage information reported from the stocker controller, the host computer provides a display of the discrepancy in storage information on an operator's terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2000
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Junji Iwasaki, Junichi Katsube, Yasushi Itami
  • Patent number: 6148962
    Abstract: Traction sheave elevator consisting of an elevator car moving along elevator guide rails, a counterweight moving along counterweight guide rails, a set of hoisting ropes (3) on which the elevator car and counterweight are suspended, and a drive machine unit (6) driving a traction sheave (7) acting on the hoisting ropes (3) and placed in the elevator shaft. The drive machine unit (6) is of a flat construction. A wall of the elevator shaft is provided with a machine space with its open side facing towards the shaft, the essential parts of the drive machine unit (6) being placed in the space. The hoisting unit (9) of the traction sheave elevator consists of a substantially discoidal drive machine unit (6) and an instrument panel (8) mounted on the frame (20) of the hoisting unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2000
    Assignee: Kone OY
    Inventors: Harri Hakala, Jorma Mustalahti, Esko Aulanko
  • Patent number: 6139005
    Abstract: A film supply system for use within a photosensitive film imager. The film supply system includes a cartridge receiving apparatus and a film pick-up mechanism. The cartridge receiving apparatus includes a tray, a guide frame and an elevator mechanism. The guide frame is configured to be disposed within an imager housing. The tray includes a floor and extending walls for maintaining a film cartridge and is pivotably received by the guide frame. The tray further defines a cartridge insertion passage and moves between an elevated position and a retracted position relative to the guide frame. In the elevated position, the cartridge insertion passage is normal to a film travel path of the imager. Finally, the elevator mechanism is disposed within the imager housing and drives the tray between the elevated position and the retracted position. The film pick-up mechanism includes a retention frame, a drive frame, a drive means, a heel plate, and a cup plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2000
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Brian D. Nelson, James R. Gilbertson, Robert J. Mattila, John J. Allen
  • Patent number: 6135443
    Abstract: A sheet feeding device and an image forming apparatus including an auxiliary pusher section, disposed at a sheet loading plate, for pushing one end of each sheet loaded on a rotatable sheet loading plate towards a sheet feeding section. The auxiliary pusher section includes a pusher member for contacting each of the sheets, and a spring for biasing the pusher member towards the sheet feeding section. The auxiliary pusher section pushes the sheets against the sheet feeding section to allow reliable feeding of the sheets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2000
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kanji Yano
  • Patent number: 6126162
    Abstract: There is disclosed a sheet distribution device in which by using a junction conveying means for conveying sheets from a main sorter unit to a slave sorter unit also as a first conveying portion of the sheet distribution device when sheet distribution devices are interconnected, the manufacture cost of the sheet distribution device is reduced. The interconnectable sheet distribution device is provided with a first conveying portion 5A for receiving an image formed sheet 2 from an image forming device 1 to convey the sheet into a body and a second conveying portion 5B for receiving the sheet 2 from the first conveying portion 5A to convey the sheet to each of plural distribution bins 4. At the time of interconnection, a third conveying portion 5D (junction conveying means) for conveying the sheet 2 from a main sorter unit S1 to a slave sorter unit S2 is used also as the first conveying portion 5A.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2000
    Assignees: Nisca Kabushiki Kaisha, Riso Kagaku Corporation
    Inventors: Masahiro Ueda, Yoshihisa Ogasawara
  • Patent number: 6123331
    Abstract: Sheet joggler system with an inlet roller pair (70, 70'), an outlet roller pair (71, 71'), sheet guides (48, 49) determining a curved sheet path between these roller pairs, a sheet supporting plate (65) between the inlet roller pair and the sheet guides, a sheet stop (72) at the lower end of said plate, and lateral sheet aligning members (66, 67).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2000
    Assignee: Agfa-Gevaert
    Inventors: Leo Vackier, Jean-Paul Martens
  • Patent number: 6112939
    Abstract: A cartridge is provided which is detachably attached to a main body of a unit. The main body of the unit houses a connected clip body where a plurality of clip plates are interconnected in ribbon form by tape and wound in roll form, and the main body is equipped with a device for clipping an end portion of a sheet bundle. The cartridge has a main body (103), which is in turn formed with a chamber (102) for housing the connected clip body and a conveyer path (113) for feeding a clip plate of the connected clip body housed in the housing chamber to a clipping position by a feed unit. The housing chamber (102) is provided with an opening (105A) at its circumferential wall (105) which becomes an inlet between the housing chamber (102) and the conveyer path (113). The opening (105A) has nearly the same diameter as the diameter of the housing chamber (102).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2000
    Assignee: Max Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Toru Yoshie
  • Patent number: 6102387
    Abstract: An automated sheet dispenser for dispensing a single sheet removed from the bottom of a stack formed of a plurality of sheets. The dispenser includes a hopper for supporting the stack of sheets, the hopper having an opening provided in the bottom surface thereof to allow passage of a sheet through the opening; a separator for separating a leading edge of the bottom sheet from the stack through the opening and moving the leading edge to a position below the hopper; and a guide for engaging the leading edge of the sheet separated from the stack by the separator and guiding the sheet to a sheet exit chute. The separator is lowered from the stack to separate the leading edge of the bottom sheet and the guide pivots to engage the leading edge and guide the leading edge between a pair of feed rollers that transport the sheet to the exit chute. The lowering of the separator, the pivoting of the guide and the advancing of the gripping feed roller are actuated by rotation of a main cam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2000
    Assignee: General Railway Signal Corporation
    Inventor: Arthur S. Zerfahs
  • Patent number: 6102250
    Abstract: A device for storing and serially dispensing cards, typically those impregnated with a perfumed scent for sampling by a perspective customer. The device stores a number of cards arranged in a substantially vertical stack. The cards are moved to a dispensing point by a spring loaded carriage into a dispensing mechanism which serially removes a leading card from the stack, changes its position to horizontal and ejects it through an opening in the front of the device as a lever is manually depressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2000
    Inventor: Daniel W. Leo, Sr.
  • Patent number: 6092639
    Abstract: A driven terminal for a passenger conveyor for transferring passenger or luggage. The driven terminal according to the present invention includes a pair of rotating plates mounted on both ends of a rotating shaft, an outer wheel forcibly contacted with the pallet chains having a smooth contacting surface, and an inner wheel having one surface contacted with a periphery of the rotating plate and the other surface contacted and secured to the outer wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2000
    Assignee: LG Industrial Systems Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Seung Dae Reo
  • Patent number: 6089354
    Abstract: A forklift with four wheels mounted on a chassis and a gantry which carries the forks and can be folded down longitudinally for transporting the forklift. The chassis of the forklift consists of two parts joined together by a hinge. The two chassis parts pivot relative to each other about a horizontal transverse axis and about a vertical axis, allowing for concurrent movement in the perpendicular axes of the chassis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2000
    Assignee: Palfinger Crayler Staplertechnik GmbH
    Inventor: Franz Hettegger
  • Patent number: 6089559
    Abstract: The device is disposed above an office machine stacking tray and stores circular divider films in a magazine. The divider films are selectively output singly from the magazine and deposited between successive sheet groups in the stacking tray to separate and identify the sheet groups.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2000
    Inventor: Friedhelm Steinhilber
  • Patent number: 6070868
    Abstract: A document transport device provided with a document tray comprising a main tray and a foldable auxiliary tray disposed above a discharge tray. A document transport device provided with a projection and a projection on an auxiliary tray to guide ejected sheets to a discharge tray without buckling or bending at the gap and height differential at the order between a main tray and an auxiliary tray, and to allow both large size document and small size documents to be easily removed from a document tray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2000
    Assignee: Minolta Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroyasu Nagato, Akiyoshi Johdai, Tohru Marakami
  • Patent number: 6070711
    Abstract: A conveyor chain having a hollow roller housing (15), an annular series of cylindrical rollers (14A and 14B) therein providing rotation of the hollow roller on an internal bushing (13). Alternate cylindrical rollers (14A) have a pair of cylindrical roller separating retaining rings (17) rotatably fitted over both ends. Intermediate cylindrical rollers (14B) have no cylindrical roller separating retaining rings (17). The retaining rings (17) on the alternate rollers (14A) engage the intermediate cylindrical rollers (14B). The cylindrical bearing surfaces (13A, 15A) are sandwiched between the retaining rings at each end of the rollers (14A) and project toward the outer circumferential surfaces of the cylindrical rollers (14A and 14B). The roller (15) and the bushing (13) have recessed surfaces (15A and 13A) which are spaced from the outer and inner circumferential surfaces of the retaining rings (17).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2000
    Assignee: Tsubakimoto Chain Co.
    Inventors: Tetsuya Murano, Hiroshi Nishimura
  • Patent number: 6068253
    Abstract: A leading edge of a leading blank in a series of overlapping envelope blanks is fed at a preselected speed into contact with a rotatably mounted backing roller. The backing roller is mounted in a frame and is selectively adjustable between a first position and a second position. A rotatably mounted segment roller is positioned opposite the backing roller. A pull-out segment is a secured to a radial portion of the backing roller. A plurality of longitudinal slots are provided in the surface of the pull-out segment and are selectively connected to a source of negative pressure. The segment roller is driven at a preselected speed greater than the speed of the series of overlapping blank. In a first mode of operation, the backing roller is adjusted to a first position in the frame so that upon rotation, the pull-out segment frictionally engages the leading edge of the leading blank, separating it from the series of overlapping blanks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2000
    Assignee: F.L. Smithe Machine Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Henry J. Mueller, Eliot S. Smithe
  • Patent number: 6065636
    Abstract: A convective warmer for flexible plastic bags containing foam precursor chemicals includes an outer housing and an inner enclosure supported within the housing, the inner enclosure having foraminous floor and ceiling plates and foraminous dividers which divide the inner enclosure into vertical compartments for containing vertical stacks of bags. An air space exists between the housing and the inner enclosure, and a forced-air heater is arranged to heat air within the air space and circulate the heated air from the air space, through the foraminous floor plate into the compartments, and out the foraminous ceiling plate back into the air space. A loading door provides access to upper portions of the compartments for loading bags into the warmer, and a dispensing door provides access to lower portions of the compartments for removing a bottommost bag from a stack of bags in the warmer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2000
    Assignee: Sealed Air Corporation
    Inventors: Laurence Burst Sperry, Lawrence John Pillote, Vincent James Cavalier, Jr., Jesse Scott Drake, John Joseph Corrigan, III, George Teofilius Bertram