Patents by Inventor C. Thom Sumner

C. Thom Sumner 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: 4665686
    Abstract: The doff management system of the present invention employs a central computer unit communicating with each yarn processing machine in a textile mill and operating under program control for monitoring and governing the operation of various functions and aspects of the mill operation. The system monitors strand production at each machine and whether the production has reached a predetermined criteria required for doffing; producing schedules of the machines which will be ready for doffing within a forthcoming time period; with the capability of altering the doffing schedules necessary to distribute workload; handling assignment of available doffers to frames which are ready for doffing; tracking earnings of doffers; and monitoring and recording various changes in the production status of the machines and generating current, historical, and prospective reports concerning the textile mill operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 1985
    Date of Patent: May 19, 1987
    Assignee: Parks-Cramer Company
    Inventors: C. Thom Sumner, John E. Lane