Patents by Inventor Sandra A. Christiana

Sandra A. Christiana 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: 6966435
    Abstract: A modular plastic conveyor belt hingedly interconnected by hinge pins made of a highly oriented polymer material. The hinge pins are preferably extruded from a material including a highly oriented polymer, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, or nylon. Alternative materials include highly oriented acetal or polyurethane. Plastic hinge pins made with these polymers having their long molecules oriented along the axis of the shaft of the hinge pin are exceptionally strong and resistant to deformation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2005
    Assignee: Laitram, L.L.C.
    Inventors: David C. Weiser, Kyle J. Sedlacek, Sandra A. Christiana, Andrew A. Corley
  • Publication number: 20040231966
    Abstract: A modular conveyor belt constructed of a series of rows of belt modules with a hinge formed in each row and aligned in the direction of belt travel with hinges of adjacent rows. The hinge allows the belt to conform to a non-coplanar carryway support to form, for example, a trough. In some versions, the hinge is a living hinge formed by flexible or thinned-out regions of the belt between rigid regions. In other versions, the hinge is formed by interleaved hinge eyes between modules along each row interconnected by a hinge pin along an axis oriented in the direction of belt travel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 22, 2003
    Publication date: November 25, 2004
    Applicant: LAITRAM, L.L.C.
    Inventors: Sandra A. Christiana, Andrew A. Corley, Robert S. Lapeyre
  • Patent number: 6811023
    Abstract: A modular conveyor belt constructed of a series of rows of belt modules with a hinge formed in each row and aligned in the direction of belt travel with hinges of adjacent rows. The hinge allows the belt to conform to a non-coplanar carryway support to form, for example, a trough. In some versions, the hinge is a living hinge formed by flexible or thinned-out regions of the belt between rigid regions. In other versions, the hinge is formed by interleaved hinge eyes between modules along each row interconnected by a hinge pin along an axis oriented in the direction of belt travel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2004
    Assignee: Laitram, L.L.C.
    Inventors: Sandra A. Christiana, Andrew A. Corley, Robert S. Lapeyre
  • Publication number: 20040200698
    Abstract: A modular plastic conveyor belt hingedly interconnected by hinge pins made of a highly oriented polymer material. The hinge pins are preferably extruded from a material including a highly oriented polymer, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, or nylon. Alternative materials include highly oriented acetal or polyurethane. Plastic hinge pins made with these polymers having their long molecules oriented along the axis of the shaft of the hinge pin are exceptionally strong and resistant to deformation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 21, 2004
    Publication date: October 14, 2004
    Inventors: David C Weiser, Kyle j Sedlacek, Sandra A Christiana, Andrew A Corley
  • Patent number: 6138819
    Abstract: A sectional article transfer assembly for receiving articles stripped from the conveying surface of a moving conveyor belt. The article transfer assembly includes, as a first piece, a transfer edge member having a base portion lying on and supported by a support frame and a belt-abutting portion that extends from the base portion to closely abut the conveying surface of a conveyor belt as it passes around a sprocket. The belt-abutting portion can have fingers or a beveled straight edge, for example. The transfer edge member mates with a second piece, a transfer plate member, which has a recessed portion that overlaps and mates with the base portion of the transfer edge member and a flat top article-transfer plate continuous and coplanar with an upper surface of the transfer edge member to form an extension of the conveying surface of the belt along which articles arc conveyed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2000
    Assignee: The Laitram Corporation
    Inventors: David W. Bogle, Timothy J. Hicks, Sandra A. Christiana, Paul L. Horton, Richard J. Sofranec, Christopher G. Greve