Patents by Inventor Michael Knauf

Michael Knauf 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).

  • Publication number: 20230271796
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method of handling food products, in which at least one respective product is placed onto a carrier that has a base and a tab pivotable relative to the base about a kink line, the carrier together with the product disposed thereon is fed to a pick-up region that is disposed in a working region of a transfer device, and the carrier together with the product disposed thereon is picked up by the transfer device, is then fed by means of the transfer device to an insertion region of a packaging machine, and is inserted there with a downward movement of the transfer device into a package component, wherein the carrier is moved past a folding contour, which is arranged in the insertion region, during the downward movement and in so doing, on the one hand, the tab is pivoted relative to the base by cooperation with the folding contour and, on the other hand, the carrier is secured against lifting by a holding device of the transfer device that is effective at or in the region of the kink li
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 31, 2023
    Publication date: August 31, 2023
    Inventors: Christoph Kuhmichel, Marco Nichau, Franziska Rupp, Andreas Runkel, Matthias Rink, Michael Knauf
  • Publication number: 20230219249
    Abstract: A system for processing food products comprises a slicing apparatus that is configured to cut off slices from food products and to form part portions having one or more slices in a portioning section. A transport device adjoining the portioning section is provided and the portioning section comprises a conveying device that transfers the part portions to the transport device. The system comprises a stacking apparatus that is configured to form a food portion comprising a plurality of part portions. The transport device is configured to transport the part portions onto a product support of the stacking apparatus, wherein the transport device and/or the stacking apparatus has/have a scale for measuring the weight of the part portions and/or of the food portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2022
    Publication date: July 13, 2023
    Inventors: Marvin SCHÄFER, Thorsten SCHNEIDER, Michael KNAUF, Julian NOLTE
  • Patent number: 11641053
    Abstract: A reader system for a tire with an integrated radio frequency identification (RFID) and tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) sensor, in which the integrated RFID and TPMS sensor is mounted on the tire, is provided. The reader system includes at least one antenna that is external to the tire. The at least one antenna is mounted on a vehicle on which the tire is mounted in a location proximate the tire. The at least one antenna is in electronic communication with the integrated RFID and TPMS sensor. A reader is mounted on the vehicle and is also in electronic communication with the at least one antenna. The at least one antenna relays a signal from the integrated RFID and TPMS sensor to the reader. A display device is in electronic communication with the reader to receive and display data from the integrated RFID and TPMS sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2023
    Assignee: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
    Inventors: John Michael Fenkanyn, Mario Vincent Orosa, Shannon D Baker, Christopher Michael Knauf, Andrew Howard Merrow, Anguel Milkov Tcholakov
  • Patent number: 11207792
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a gripper for gripping a product, in particular a food product, having a suction device which has a contact surface which can be brought into contact with a section, in particular with an end section, of the product, wherein the suction device comprises at least one first suction section which is bounded in the radial direction by a sealing device and which is in communication with a pumping device generating a vacuum; and at least one sealing section which is arranged outside the first suction section viewed in the radial direction of the contact region and at least sectionally, in particular completely, surrounds it in the radial direction. The present invention relates to a cutting apparatus having a corresponding gripper and to a method for cutting a product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Inventors: Christian Baumeister, Fabian Jung-Saßmannshausen, Philip Kahl, Michael Knauf, Christoph Kuhmichel, Andreas Runkel, Thorsten Schneider
  • Patent number: 11130650
    Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus for providing web-like interleaving sheet material on one track or on multiple tracks at a cutting zone in which products supplied on one track or multiple tracks are cut into slices and interleaving sheets are introduced that are cut off from the provided interleaving sheet material in the cutting zone, having a removal device that is configured to remove the material web from a material store, and having a loop store in which the material web forms a loop having a loop portion at the incoming side and a loop portion at the outgoing side, wherein the loop store provides a reception space for the loop whose one side forms a support for the one loop portion and whose side opposite the support forms a boundary for the other loop portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Inventors: Markus Gerhardt, Andreas Stöwer, Michael Knauf, Jens Krüger, Marvin Schäfer
  • Publication number: 20210021015
    Abstract: A reader system for a tire with an integrated radio frequency identification (RFID) and tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) sensor, in which the integrated RFID and TPMS sensor is mounted on the tire, is provided. The reader system includes at least one antenna that is external to the tire. The at least one antenna is mounted on a vehicle on which the tire is mounted in a location proximate the tire. The at least one antenna is in electronic communication with the integrated RFID and TPMS sensor. A reader is mounted on the vehicle and is also in electronic communication with the at least one antenna. The at least one antenna relays a signal from the integrated RFID and TPMS sensor to the reader. A display device is in electronic communication with the reader to receive and display data from the integrated RFID and TPMS sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 15, 2020
    Publication date: January 21, 2021
    Inventors: John Michael Fenkanyn, Mario Vincent Orosa, Shannon D. Baker, Christopher Michael Knauf, Andrew Howard Merrow, Anguel Milkov Tcholakov
  • Publication number: 20200290840
    Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus for providing web-like interleaving sheet material on one track or on multiple tracks at a cutting zone in which products supplied on one track or multiple tracks are cut into slices and interleaving sheets are introduced that are cut off from the provided interleaving sheet material in the cutting zone, having a removal device that is configured to remove the material web from a material store, and having a loop store in which the material web forms a loop having a loop portion at the incoming side and a loop portion at the outgoing side, wherein the loop store provides a reception space for the loop whose one side forms a support for the one loop portion and whose side opposite the support forms a boundary for the other loop portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2020
    Publication date: September 17, 2020
    Inventors: Markus Gerhardt, Andreas Stöwer, Michael Knauf, Jens Krüger, Marvin Schäfer
  • Patent number: 10695932
    Abstract: There is disclosed a food slicing device for slicing food products which has a pre-cooling device for cooling the food product before the slicing and a cutting device with a cutting blade. A temperature registration device for measuring the temperature of the food product and a control unit are provided, wherein the control unit is designed to calculate, based on the temperature measured by the temperature registration device, an instruction for the operation of the pre-cooling device, wherein the pre-cooling device is controllable depending on this instruction. The disclosure furthermore relates to a method for slicing a food product in which the food product is pre-cooled in a pre-cooling device, the temperature of the food product is measured after the pre-cooling and before or after the slicing of the food product, and the operation of the pre-cooling device is adjusted depending on the measured temperature level of the food product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2020
    Assignee: Weber Maschinenbau GmbH Breidenbach
    Inventors: Alexander Burk, Michael Knauf, Jochen Gerlach, Philip Kahl, Christian Nietsch, Andreas Runkel, Thorsten Schneider
  • Publication number: 20180222074
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a gripper for gripping a product, in particular a food product, having a suction device which has a contact surface which can be brought into contact with a section, in particular with an end section, of the product, wherein the suction device comprises at least one first suction section which is bounded in the radial direction by a sealing device and which is in communication with a pumping device generating a vacuum; and at least one sealing section which is arranged outside the first suction section viewed in the radial direction of the contact region and at least sectionally, in particular completely, surrounds it in the radial direction. The present invention relates to a cutting apparatus having a corresponding gripper and to a method for cutting a product.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 1, 2018
    Publication date: August 9, 2018
    Inventors: Christian Baumeister, Fabian Jung-Saßmannshausen, Philip Kahl, Michael Knauf, Christoph Kuhmichel, Andreas Runkel, Thorsten Schneider
  • Publication number: 20180169777
    Abstract: The invention relates to a cutting blade, in particular to a scythe-like blade or to a spiral blade, for an apparatus for slicing food products, in particular for a high-speed slicer, the cutting blade rotating about an axis of rotation during a cutting operation, having a radially outer peripheral edge which acts as a blade edge and which has a curved extent about the axis of rotation; and having a plurality of cutting teeth which are arranged distributed following one another along the peripheral edge, wherein each cutting tooth has a blade edge which comprises a cutting surface and a cutting edge radially outwardly bounding the cutting surface; wherein each cutting surface extends inclined with respect to a spanned plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation and/or with respect to a cutting plane; and wherein the inclination of the cutting surfaces varies along the peripheral edge.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2017
    Publication date: June 21, 2018
    Applicant: Weber Maschinenbau GmbH Breidenbach
    Inventors: Philip Kahl, Michael Knauf, Andreas Runkel, Thorsten Schneider
  • Publication number: 20160271822
    Abstract: There is disclosed a food slicing device for slicing food products which has a pre-cooling device for cooling the food product before the slicing and a cutting device with a cutting blade. A temperature registration device for measuring the temperature of the food product and a control unit are provided, wherein the control unit is designed to calculate, based on the temperature measured by the temperature registration device, an instruction for the operation of the pre-cooling device, wherein the pre-cooling device is controllable depending on this instruction. The disclosure furthermore relates to a method for slicing a food product in which the food product is pre-cooled in a pre-cooling device, the temperature of the food product is measured after the pre-cooling and before or after the slicing of the food product, and the operation of the pre-cooling device is adjusted depending on the measured temperature level of the food product.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2016
    Publication date: September 22, 2016
    Applicant: Weber Maschinenbau GmbH
    Inventors: Alexander Burk, Michael Knauf, Jochen Gerlach, Philip Kahl, Christian Nietsch, Andreas Runkel, Thorsten Schneider
  • Publication number: 20150190939
    Abstract: An apparatus, in particular a high-performance slicer, for slicing food products such as in particular sausage, cheese, ham and/or the like, comprises a product feed which feeds a product to be sliced to a cutting plane in which a cutting blade moves adjacent to a cutting edge, in particular in a rotating and/or a planetary revolving motion. The cutting apparatus comprises means to rotate the product fed to the cutting plane about an axis, in particular about a longitudinal axis of the product, at least over a predefinable angular range during the slicing operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Inventors: Jochen Gerlach, Philip Karl, Michael Knauf, Andreas Runkel, Thorsten Schneider