Patents by Inventor Zane Lee Simmons

Zane Lee Simmons 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).

  • Apparatus and method for stacking layers of items by separate rotary supporting conveyor
    Patent number: 7621712
    Abstract: A stacking apparatus includes a feed device that feeds a succession of elongated items to a pick-up station, and a rotating structure having first and second arms at different angles about a rotation axis of the rotating structure. The arms have receiving surfaces mounted thereto that receive the elongated items as a layer at the pick-up station during rotation of the rotating structure as the receiving surface travels past the pick-up station. The apparatus also includes a carriage having layer supporting forks that receive the layer from the receiving surface during rotation of the rotating structure as the receiving surface travels past a layer receiving station. The carriage carries the layer from the layer receiving station and deposits the layer at a layer stacking station from the forks to form the stack of superimposed layers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2009
    Assignee: D. R. Reynolds Company, Inc.
    Inventor: Zane Lee Simmons
  • APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR STACKING LAYERS OF ITEMS
    Publication number: 20070243056
    Abstract: A stacking apparatus includes a feed device that feeds a succession of elongated items to a pick-up station, and a rotating structure having first and second arms at different angles about a rotation axis of the rotating structure. The arms have receiving surfaces mounted thereto that receive the elongated items as a layer at the pick-up station during rotation of the rotating structure as the receiving surface travels past the pick-up station. The apparatus also includes a carriage having layer supporting forks that receive the layer from the receiving surface during rotation of the rotating structure as the receiving surface travels past a layer receiving station. The carriage carries the layer from the layer receiving station and deposits the layer at a layer stacking station from the forks to form the stack of superimposed layers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2007
    Publication date: October 18, 2007
    Applicant: D. R. Reynolds Company, Inc.
    Inventor: Zane Lee SIMMONS