Patents by Inventor Andrew M. Gantt

Andrew M. Gantt 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).

  • Method of and apparatus for changing a production setup
    Patent number: 5553376
    Abstract: An assembly machine (10) has a plurality of slots (22) each of which hold a feeder (24) containing a component reel (30). The assembly machine (10) automatically assembles a printed circuit board from these components. When a changeover occurs the assembly machine (10) determines which components need to be added (104), which need to be removed and which can be moved (106). The assembly machine (10) then instructs an operator to first perform all the remove operations, then to perform all the move operations and last to perform all the add operations. A combination of scanning a component ID (32) and a feeder ID (32) verifies the correct component is placed on the appropriate reel (30). The location of reel (30) among the slots (22) is verified by a proximity sensor (28).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 10, 1996
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventors: Ranvir S. Solanki, Eric J. Gasmann, Joseph R. Kane, Edward P. Griffin, Andrew M. Gantt