Patents by Inventor Philip A. McLain

Philip A. McLain 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).

  • Control system for automatic material handling crane
    Patent number: 4614274
    Abstract: An automatic material handling crane system services a plurality of stations in an industrial plant. The system includes a crane which is movable on a track, a mast which is carried by the crane, and a material handling mechanism which is carried by the mast. Position encoders provide signals indicative of the position of the crane on the track and the mast with respect to the crane. Both manual and remote controls are provided to operate the crane system. The manual control is carried by the crane and provides manual control signals. The remote control is positioned at a remote location with respect to the crane and stores a schedule of operations of the crane, mast and material handling mechanism. The remote control signals provided by the remote control are based on the schedule and on status information relating to the crane, the mast and material handling mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 1984
    Date of Patent: September 30, 1986
    Assignee: PaR Systems Corp.
    Inventors: Dean R. LaValle, Philip A. McLain
  • Control system for automatic material handling crane
    Patent number: 4456132
    Abstract: An automatic material handling crane system services a plurality of stations in an industrial plant. The system includes a crane which is movable on a track, a mast which is carried by the crane, and a material handling mechanism which is carried by the mast. Position encoders provide signals indicative of the position of the crane on the track and the mast with respect to the crane. Both manual and remote controls are provided to operate the crane system. The manual control is carried by the crane and provides manual control signals. The remote control is positioned at a remote location with respect to the crane and stores a schedule of operations of the crane, mast and material handling mechanism. The remote control signals provided by the remote control are based on the schedule and on status information relating to the crane, the mast and material handling mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 1980
    Date of Patent: June 26, 1984
    Assignee: PaR Systems Corp.
    Inventors: Dean R. LaValle, Philip A. McLain