Patents by Inventor John P. Price

John P. Price 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: 7431060
    Abstract: The present invention is a system and method for the automatic control of a debarking system for use in a chip mill, paper mill, or the like. The present invention comprises one or more programmable logic controllers (PLCs) that receive input from ultrasonic sensors that measure the quantity of wood present at various locations within the system. Based on this data, the PLCs reference look-up tables that contain information on start, stop, speed up, and slow down times for various system components based on such criteria as wood variety and season. The control system optimizes the fiber yield from the debarking system while also reducing mechanical wear on components of the system by reducing the time at which components are run at high speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2008
    Assignee: The Price Companies, Inc.
    Inventors: John P. Price, Robert Stone, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6396846
    Abstract: To obviate the need to install a null card in a non-ISDN configured channel bank, an ISDN channel unit is modified to include an interface circuit that uses NMQ signals clocked by the bank controller on a shared NMQ lead to artificially generate a ‘pseudo NMP’ signal. This pseudo NMP signal and the NMQ signals enable the ISDN channel unit to conduct serial message exchanges with the bank controller during polling of an adjacent empty backplane card slot. The bank controller unit is thereby effectively ‘spoofed’ into thinking that a channel unit is installed in the empty backplane slot. It releases a pair of time slots associated with the adjacent empty card slot, so that the spoofing ISDN channel unit can use the usurped time slots for 2B+D ISDN communications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2002
    Assignee: Adtran, Inc.
    Inventor: John P. Price
  • Patent number: 5044412
    Abstract: Apparatus for debarking logs comprising a generally horizontal rotary drum debarker having an inlet end, power drive device for continuously rotating the drum of the debarker generally about a horizontal axis, generally horizontal main conveyor element for conveying groups of tree length logs toward the drum, the main conveyor element having a discharge end below the axis of rotation of the drum, drive apparatus for continuously driving the main conveyor element, and auxiliary feed mechanism below the axis of rotation of the drum and between the discharge end of the main conveyor element and the inlet end of the drum for assisting the movement of groups of logs fed by the main conveyor element into the inlet end of the drum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 1988
    Date of Patent: September 3, 1991
    Assignee: Price Industries
    Inventors: John P. Price, Donald V. Woodham
  • Patent number: RE37460
    Abstract: Apparatus request for debarking logs comprising a generally horizontal rotary drum debarker having an inlet end, power drive device for continuously rotating the drum of the debarker generally about a horizontal axis, generally horizontal main conveyor element for conveying groups of tree length logs toward the drum, the main conveyor element having a discharge end below the axis of rotation of the drum, drive apparatus for continuously driving the main conveyor element, and auxiliary feed mechanism below the axis of rotation of the drum and between the discharge end of the main conveyor element and the inlet end of the drum for assisting the movement of groups of logs fed by the main conveyor element into the inlet end of the drum. The questions raised in reexamination request No. 90/003,655, filed Dec. 7, 1994, 90/003,826 filed May 8, 1995, and 90/004,552 filed Feb.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 1994
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2001
    Assignee: Price Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: John P. Price, Donald V. Woodham