Patents by Inventor S. Neal Graham

S. Neal Graham 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: 4884678
    Abstract: An orbital cap selection and feeding device is disclosed having a disk rotating within a circular frame so that caps disposed on the disk tend to move by centrifugal force to the perimeter of the disk. The frame includes structure defining a guide chute to retain a procession of caps lying flat within the guide chute and to keep caps at the interior of the rotating disk out of the chute. The guide chute carries the procession of caps about 180 degrees to a discharge chute. About midway along the length of the guide chute is an optical sensor that uses a reflected beam of light to sense the orientation of caps in the procession and generate an electrical signal when an improperly oriented cap is encountered. The signal is received by an ejection airjet downstream of the optical sensor which is actuated in response to the signal to displace the improperly oriented cap from the guide chute and back into the interior of the rotating disk.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 1987
    Date of Patent: December 5, 1989
    Inventors: S. Neal Graham, Thomas E. Terry