Patents by Inventor Kyle Lee Fleeger

Kyle Lee Fleeger 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).

  • System and method for heating metal blanks
    Patent number: 11318517
    Abstract: A method of adjusting a position of a blank entering a furnace includes measuring a position of a heated blank exiting the furnace, recording one or more offset values from a nominal value of the heated blank exiting the furnace, calculating a revised position of a subsequent blank entering the furnace as a function of the one or more offset values, and adjusting a position of the subsequent blank entering the furnace as a function of the one or more offset values. The position of the heated blank exiting the furnace can be measured with an electronic vision system, a robot can adjust the position of the subsequent blank, and offset value(s) can be an elapsed furnace operation time, a number of heated blanks that have exited the furnace, and a physical dimension between an actual position of the heated blank and the nominal value of the heated blank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Raj Sohmshetty, Elizabeth Bullard, Kyle Lee Fleeger, Robert Hess, Nguyen Phan
  • SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR HEATING METAL BLANKS
    Publication number: 20220097115
    Abstract: A method of adjusting a position of a blank entering a furnace includes measuring a position of a heated blank exiting the furnace, recording one or more offset values from a nominal value of the heated blank exiting the furnace, calculating a revised position of a subsequent blank entering the furnace as a function of the one or more offset values, and adjusting a position of the subsequent blank entering the furnace as a function of the one or more offset values. The position of the heated blank exiting the furnace can be measured with an electronic vision system, a robot can adjust the position of the subsequent blank, and offset value(s) can be an elapsed furnace operation time, a number of heated blanks that have exited the furnace, and a physical dimension between an actual position of the heated blank and the nominal value of the heated blank.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2020
    Publication date: March 31, 2022
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Raj Sohmshetty, Elizabeth Bullard, Kyle Lee Fleeger, Robert Hess, Nguyen Phan