Patents by Inventor Bryant G. Ragan

Bryant G. Ragan 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).

  • Patent number: 10690534
    Abstract: A weighing conveyor system, a checkweigher, and a method for weighing conveyed objects with a checkweigher comprising LIM-driven rollers positioned in a conveying line and position sensors for determining the objects' weights from the motion of the objects across the rollers. The LIM drives the rollers with a constant torque. The acceleration of an object driven by the rollers is inversely proportional to the object's weight. So an object's weight can be determined by the effect of the rollers on its motion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: Laitram, L.L.C.
    Inventor: Bryant G. Ragan
  • Publication number: 20200156875
    Abstract: A hygienic magnetic tray and conveyor. The low-profile tray includes a forcer sandwiched between an article-supporting top and an opposite bottom. The top is made of hygienic material, and the bottom can be made of a low-friction material. The tray is propelled along a guide surface on an enclosure housing stator coils supported in a conveyor frame. The stator forms a linear motor with the forcer in the tray. Roller balls protruding from the bottom of one version of the tray provide low-friction rolling contact with the guide surface. Various disposal systems provide escape routes for removing fluids and debris from the guide surface of the stator enclosure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 24, 2020
    Publication date: May 21, 2020
    Inventors: Bryant G. Ragan, Wayne A. Pertuit, Jr.
  • Patent number: 10654660
    Abstract: A hygienic magnetic tray and conveyor. The low-profile tray includes a forcer sandwiched between an article-supporting top and an opposite bottom. The top is made of hygienic material, and the bottom can be made of a low-friction material. The tray is propelled along a guide surface on an enclosure housing stator coils supported in a conveyor frame. The stator forms a linear motor with the forcer in the tray. Various disposal systems provide escape routes for removing fluids and debris from the guide surface of the stator enclosure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2020
    Assignee: Laitram, L.L.C.
    Inventors: Bryant G. Ragan, Shuchi P. Khurana, John F. Landrum, Aditya Mehendale, Gerard Johannes Pieter Nijsse, Funda Sahin-Nomaler, Silvester Matheus Reijnders, Ewout Peter van der Laan
  • Publication number: 20200115163
    Abstract: A roller conveyor having a bed of rollers supported by air bearings and driven by a linear-motor stator. The rollers are made of electrically conductive or magnetic material to operate as rotors forming linear motors with the linear stator. Air bearings support the ends of the rollers. Intermediate air bearings support the middle of long rollers in wide conveyors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 6, 2017
    Publication date: April 16, 2020
    Inventor: Bryant G. Ragan
  • Publication number: 20200102161
    Abstract: A monorail tray conveyor in which a tray having magnets is driven along a single rail of a tray conveyor segment by stator coils housed in the rail. Carriage monorail segments including carriages that are driven along monorails have transfer rails that align with the rails of tray conveyor segments to transfer trays atop the carriage transfer rails between tray conveyor segments. The carriage monorail segments include horizontal translator segments, elevator segments, diverter segments, and filter segments.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 27, 2018
    Publication date: April 2, 2020
    Inventor: Bryant G. Ragan
  • Patent number: 10589935
    Abstract: A motorized pulley mounted on a stationary shaft to drive a conveyor belt. The motorized pulley is constructed of an axial-flux motor in a housing connected to the motor's rotor. A driver including a drive ring has a drive surface mounted to the periphery of the housing to rotate with the rotor and the housing and drive a conveyor belt. The motor's stator is affixed to the shaft axially offset from the rotor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2020
    Assignee: Laitram, L.L.C.
    Inventors: Bryant G. Ragan, Gilbert J. MacLachlan, David C. Weiser
  • Publication number: 20200031594
    Abstract: A tray conveyor in which plastic trays with rows of embedded translators are driven by stators. Washing stations in cleaning zones are provided to automatically clean empty trays in the conveyor's return path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 3, 2017
    Publication date: January 30, 2020
    Inventors: Bryant G. Ragan, Matthew L. Fourney
  • Patent number: 10456811
    Abstract: A conveyor and a method for weighing conveyed objects or sorting them by weight. The conveyor comprises a conveyor belt having electrically conductive rollers that are rotated with a constant torque in a lateral direction by a linear-induction stator defining a roller-activation zone along a carryway. Because the lateral acceleration of a conveyed object is inversely proportional to the object's weight, lighter objects are displaced laterally farther and at greater speeds than heavier objects. So their weights can be determined from the lateral acceleration, speed, or displacement. And objects can be sorted off the side of the belt by weight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2019
    Assignee: Laitram, L.L.C.
    Inventor: Bryant G. Ragan
  • Patent number: 10435244
    Abstract: A conveyor includes a powered pop-up roller driven by separable drive components. A first drive component is rigidly coupled to the frame of the conveyor. The first drive component induces motion driving the roller in a second drive component, which is fixed to the roller but separable from the first drive component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: Laitram, L.L.C.
    Inventors: Bryant G. Ragan, Robert L. Rosen, Jaime E. Castro Cuevas
  • Publication number: 20190233220
    Abstract: A hygienic magnetic tray and conveyor. The low-profile tray includes a forcer sandwiched between an article-supporting top and an opposite bottom. The top is made of hygienic material, and the bottom can be made of a low-friction material. The tray is propelled along a guide surface on an enclosure housing stator coils supported in a conveyor frame. The stator forms a linear motor with the forcer in the tray. Various disposal systems provide escape routes for removing fluids and debris from the guide surface of the stator enclosure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 31, 2018
    Publication date: August 1, 2019
    Inventors: Bryant G. Ragan, Shuchi P. Khurana, John F. Landrum, Aditya Mehendale, Gerard Johannes Pieter Nijsse, Funda Sahin-Nomaler, Silvester Matheus Reijnders, Ewout Peter van der Laan
  • Patent number: 10301124
    Abstract: A conveyor system and method for spreading a mass of electrically conductive articles, such as aluminum cans, being transferred from an infeed conveyor to a wider discharge conveyor. A transfer device between the infeed and discharge conveyors uses linear induction to propel and spread electrically conductive articles across a continuous transfer surface with or without the aid of backpressure or mechanical spreading means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2019
    Assignee: Laitram, L.L.C.
    Inventors: Bryant G. Ragan, Jason Lagneaux, James T. Cronvich
  • Patent number: 10273095
    Abstract: An electromagnetic propulsion system for electrically conductive articles, such as aluminum beverage cans. Currents in coils disposed along a passageway induce currents in aluminum cans in the passageway. The electromagnetic fields produced by the coil currents and the eddy currents in the cans interact to produce forces that propel the cans along the passageway. A coil drive supplies the coils with a low-frequency current to propel the cans and a high-frequency current to heat the cans. The coils are arranged as solenoids encircling the passageway or as planar arrays bracketing the passageway. Besides being used to propel aluminum cans, the coils can be used to spin cans. The electromagnetic propulsion systems are shown in can washers and dryers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2019
    Assignee: Laitram, L.L.C.
    Inventor: Bryant G. Ragan
  • Patent number: 10246267
    Abstract: A destacking conveyor and a method for destacking stacked articles, such as parcels and envelopes. The destacking conveyor comprises an inclined array of rollers that are arranged to rotate on axes perpendicular to a conveying direction. The conveyor is divided along its length into continuous roller-activation zones and selectively activated zones. In the continuous zones, the rollers always rotate in the conveying direction. In the selectively activated zones, the rollers are activated to rotate in the conveying direction and deactivated to be freely rotatable and allow articles to slide backward by gravity. The conveyor also includes a lift to change its inclination angle. By regulating the inclination angle and the activation and deactivation of the rollers in the selectively activated zones, piggy-backed articles slide off bottom articles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: Laitram, L.L.C.
    Inventor: Bryant G. Ragan
  • Publication number: 20190016537
    Abstract: A motorized pulley mounted on a stationary shaft to drive a conveyor belt. The motorized pulley is constructed of an axial-flux motor in a housing connected to the motor's rotor. A driver including a drive ring has a drive surface mounted to the periphery of the housing to rotate with the rotor and the housing and drive a conveyor belt. The motor's stator is affixed to the shaft axially offset from the rotor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 4, 2017
    Publication date: January 17, 2019
    Inventors: Bryant G. Ragan, Gilbert J. MacLachlan, David C. Weiser
  • Patent number: 10118765
    Abstract: A trough-belt conveyor with adjustable bearing support wings and methods for operating the conveyor to sort or destack articles. The conveyor includes a flexible conveyor belt supported in a series of support beds. Adjustable support beds have a base bearing member flanked by a pair of bearing wings. One or both of the wings are adjustable to raise or lower the sides of the belt above and below the plane of the center of the belt supported atop the base member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2018
    Assignee: Laitram, L.L.C.
    Inventors: Bryant G. Ragan, John F. Landrum, Robert L. Rosen
  • Publication number: 20180305127
    Abstract: A conveyor includes a powered pop-up roller driven by separable drive components. A first drive component is rigidly coupled to the frame of the conveyor. The first drive component induces motion driving the roller in a second drive component, which is fixed to the roller but separable from the first drive component.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2016
    Publication date: October 25, 2018
    Inventors: Bryant G. Ragan, Robert L. Rosen, Jaime E. Castro Cuevas
  • Patent number: 10087013
    Abstract: A drive system for a motorized roller that includes a secondary stator external to the motorized roller. The outer shell of the motorized roller contains electrically conductive or magnetic material to form an induction, permanent-magnet, or reluctance motor with the secondary stator and boosts or bucks the torque of the motorized roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: Laitram, L.L.C.
    Inventors: Bryant G. Ragan, John F. Landrum, Robert L. Rosen
  • Patent number: 10003246
    Abstract: A linear-motor stator assembly comprising a stator and an integral line reactor in one housing. The reactor has inductor coils which are connected in series with the stator windings to compensate for unequal inductances in the stator phases and balance the polyphase currents into the stator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2018
    Assignee: Laitram, L.L.C.
    Inventor: Bryant G. Ragan
  • Publication number: 20180164146
    Abstract: A weighing conveyor system, a checkweigher, and a method for weighing conveyed objects with a checkweigher comprising LIM-driven rollers positioned in a conveying line and position sensors for determining the objects' weights from the motion of the objects across the rollers. The LIM drives the rollers with a constant torque. The acceleration of an object driven by the rollers is inversely proportional to the object's weight. So an object's weight can be determined by the effect of the rollers on its motion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 26, 2016
    Publication date: June 14, 2018
    Inventor: Bryant G. Ragan
  • Patent number: 9988214
    Abstract: A radius conveyor comprising a sideflexing conveyor belt and a touchless magnetic bearing at the inside of a turn. The conveyor belt has electrically conductive elements in a side edge. An array of permanent magnets along the conveyor's side rail at the inside of the turn produces a permanent magnetic field. As the conveyor belt is driven through the turn, the permanent magnet field induces currents in the electrically conductive material. The currents produce reaction magnetic fields opposed to the permanent magnetic field that result in a radially outward force pushing the conveyor belt away from frictional contact with the side rail. Alternatively, permanent magnets in the side edge of the belt and electrically conductive elements in the conveyor's side rail likewise provide a magnetic bearing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: Laitram, L.L.C.
    Inventor: Bryant G. Ragan