Did You Know...
...Chester Carlson was a patent agent who tired of having to make multiple copies of patent applications using the only duplication method available at the time: carbon paper. In 1959 he came up with a new copying system and took it to IBM for evaluation. The "experts" at IBM determined potential sales to be only 5,000 units because people wouldn't want to use a bulky machine when they had carbon paper. Carlson's invention was the xerography process, the company founded on the system is Xerox.
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7857125 | Apparatus having rotating chains or rings for carrying vertically hanging trays An apparatus for carrying a plurality of vertically hanging trays includes a vertical rotating members comprising a first pair of rotating chains carrying the plurality of trays at respective top bars thereof and a second pair of rotating chains coupled to each top ... | 12/28/2010 |
| 7815038 | Conveying device for vertically transporting piece goods A conveying device (1) for vertically transporting piece goods (3) with inner and outer conveying means (4, 5) and several platforms (11) that are coupled to the conveying means. The piece goods are fed to the platforms horizontally in a ... | 10/19/2010 |
| 7445111 | Transport system including vertical rollers A transport system for conveying articles along conveyance paths including straight, curvilinear, horizontal, inclined and declined conveyance sections. The articles are conveyed between a pair of vertical belts while being supported by protrusions extending from th... | 11/04/2008 |
| 7357246 | Belt conveyor having self-clearing flights A conveyor having rollers supported above the conveying surface of a belt to prevent conveyed articles from being stranded atop flights or other positioning elements. The rollers may be passive or driven actively either directly by rolling contact with a carryway or... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7311192 | Systems and methods for providing an improved timing conveyor Methods and apparatus for a conveyor system for evenly spacing conveyed objects are provided. In one embodiment, the conveyor system includes a conveyor belt that includes a conveyor having cavities, rollers in some of cavities, and a positioning component. The conv... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7281623 | Transport system including vertical rollers A transport system for conveying articles along conveyance paths including straight, curvilinear, horizontal, inclined and declined conveyance sections. The articles are conveyed between a pair of vertical belts while being supported by protrusions extending from th... | 10/16/2007 |
| 7281627 | Forged chain link assembly The forged chain link assembly comprises a forged chain link having a male end and a female end which cooperates with an opposite end of an adjacent link to form a chain, each end having a bore therein which cooperates with a bore in the opposite end of an adjacent ... | 10/16/2007 |
| 7278532 | Conveying apparatus An apparatus for conveying articles includes a transmission element, a plurality of element guides around which the transmission element extends, a drive motor for moving the transmission element, a plurality of article carriages operatively connected to the transmi... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7258223 | Pallet conveyor with chain drive recirculating in a horizontal plane A conveyor using a drive chain to drive pallets along a closed loop path on a track lying in a horizontal plane through inside and outside turns so that the conveyor may transport parts along non aligned stations. An advance and a return run extend parallel to each ... | 08/21/2007 |
| 7237654 | Lifter device To provide a compact lifter device, which can attain a work-piece's lifting/lowering operation in a stable supporting state and can reduce the parts number and an assembly load. A lifter device 100 in which a pair of work-piece lifting chains 130, 130 ... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7137593 | Vertical conveyor arrangement for the transport of catering service goods in an aircraft with at least two decks arranged one above another In a vertical conveyor arrangement for the transport of catering service goods in an aircraft with at least two decks arranged one above another, catering service goods are transported from a lower deck embodied as a freight deck into an upper deck. A conveyor arran... | 11/21/2006 |
| 7059465 | Multi-directional conveyor Multi-directional conveyor with a pair of conveying belts, a plurality of sprockets, a sprocket holding frame, a gear reduced drive motor and a plurality of four sided trays. The trays are attached to the conveying belts by outwardly facing horizontal pins that are ... | 06/13/2006 |
| 7025191 | Moving crank mechanism A moving crank mechanism that is particularly adapted for use in a conveyor system. A moving crank remains in a substantially parallel position with respect to a fixed reference plane as the crank member is driven by its offset opposed ends along an endless loop. Th... | 04/11/2006 |
| 7011206 | Vertical conveyor in the form of a c-shaped circulating conveyor for vertical conveyance of unit load items A vertical conveyor in the form of a said C-shaped fixed tray conveyor (1) for the vertical conveying of individual products from and to a lower level (3) to or from a upper level (2) on essentially horizontal, vertically movable spaced carrying... | 03/14/2006 |
| 6814214 | Pallet and conveyor system for loading onto transport A pallet and conveyor system for loading pallets onto a transport vehicle is described. The conveyor system has a first and a second conveyor which positions the pallets between the conveyors and maintains the pallets in upright orientation. The conveyor defines an ... | 11/09/2004 |
| 6394260 | Conveyor system including roller-guided carriage assemblies A conveyor system for transporting articles between various locations along a conveyor path including multiple sections extending in different directions. The conveyor system includes a conveyor roller assembly that includes an articulated conveyor body. ... | 05/28/2002 |
| 6378689 | Vertical conveyor for a palletizing apparatus A vertical conveyor (1) for a palletizing apparatus for stacking products (2), especially books, periodicals or other such printed products on a pallet, including carriers (7) driven by a drive chain (19) on a closed path and guided horizontally by a guid... | 04/30/2002 |
| 6279732 | Carousel apparatus A carousel apparatus including a track plate, two or more tracks that define a closed circuit, and an alignment block that travels about the closed circuit while maintaining a fixed orientation. The alignment block may be adapted to support a load so that... | 08/28/2001 |
| 6179115 | Mechanical device three chains for the continuous spacing and transfer of products A mechanism for continuously transporting a variety of receptacles with predetermined adjacent spacing. The mechanism uses a first and a second chain driven by a common shaft around identical closed circuits, but vertically offset from one other. These cl... | 01/30/2001 |
| 5855271 | Noise and wear reducing apparatus for endless conveyors A conveyor platform is formed from a series of pivotally interconnected segments. Each segment has a stop block, and each stop block has two strike faces. Each strike face abuts against an opposing strike face on adjacent stop blocks when the platform is ... | 01/05/1999 |
| 5695071 | Small flats sorter A system and a method for sorting are provided for distributing articles, such as mail pieces or other flats, to predetermined destinations. At the destination, the particular article is raked by a raking assembly from a carrier for placement into a conta... | 12/09/1997 |
| 5535874 | Carrier for transport and delivery of an article to a destination A system and a method for sorting are provided for distributing articles, such as mail pieces or other flats, to predetermined destinations. At the destination, the particular article is raked by a raking assembly from a carrier for placement into a conta... | 07/16/1996 |
| 5419457 | System for sorting mail pieces on multiple levels and a method for performing the same A system and a method for sorting are provided for distributing articles, such as mail pieces or other flats, to predetermined destinations. At the destination, the particular article is raked by a raking assembly from a carrier for placement into a conta... | 05/30/1995 |
| 5407264 | Drive mechanism for moving a horizontal shelf in a vending machine A drive mechanism for movement of a horizontal shelf in a vending machine includes first and second spaced apart rotatable sprockets. A continuous chain engages and extends around the first and second spaced apart sprockets. A plurality of brackets are at... | 04/18/1995 |
| 5401531 | Coating system A system for processing components which are to be transferred to second system. Portions of the system are selectively controlled so that when demand from the second system is stopped, processing of the components is allowed to be completed as needed. Th... | 03/28/1995 |
| 5263574 | Interlocking flight for conveyor systems The present invention relates to an interlocking flight for forming a flexible platform of a conveyor which may be of the continuous, vertical type. The flight is provided with oppositely-disposed first and engaging surfaces and an elongate portion having... | 11/23/1993 |
| 5188245 | Full height carrier for horizontal carousel A top drive horizontal carousel for a full height carrier including generally horizontal and coextensive upper and lower guides and associated upper and lower support assemblies. The upper and lower support assemblies include a series of guidance points o... | 02/23/1993 |
| 5161929 | Automated work center The present invention relates to an automated integrated work station for handling goods within distribution and production environments. In one of the preferred embodiments the work station is specifically adapted for consolidating goods.... | 11/10/1992 |
| 5058729 | Continuous conveyor apparatus A continuous conveyor apparatus is provided, comprising tandem wheels and coaxial wheels appropriately positioned. Four endless link chains are turned around the wheels, and a plurality of carrying vessels having arms are connected to the four link chains... | 10/22/1991 |
| 5050726 | Vertical lift conveyor An improved vertical lift conveyor for moving articles between different heights, in a generally rectangular path of travel, utilizing at least one cantilevered platform. A first drive is rotatably secured to a support structure, and a second drive of equ... | 09/24/1991 |
| 4986411 | Continuous motion vertical conveyor A continuous vertical conveyor having a horizontal infeed and a vertically displaced horizontal outfeed and a horizontal platform continuously moving between the infeed and outfeed while supported on staggered transport chains so as to remain horizontal e... | 01/22/1991 |
| 4973293 | Multiple drive chain system A multiple drive chain system comprises two-chain pairs and a plurality of rotatable sprockets working together and with the chain pairs to lift and transport heavy loads. The two-chain pairs are arranged in superposed interlocking relationship and each c... | 11/27/1990 |
| 4966672 | Electrolytic apparatus with unequal legged basket-carrier An electrolytic apparatus and a material handling apparatus, including a pair of drive chains oriented to rotate in a substantially vertical plane. One or more product carriers, each including a basket portion, are supported by the chains. As the chains r... | 10/30/1990 |
| 4883167 | Continuous conveyor apparatus A continuous conveyor apparatus is provided, comprising tandem wheels and coaxial wheels appropriately positioned. Four endless link chains are turned around the wheels, and a plurality of carrying vessels having arms are connected to the four link chains... | 11/28/1989 |
| 4877121 | Vertical excursion accommodation apparatus A vertical excursion accommodation apparatus is disclosed, which comprises a plurality of excursion shelf units disposed side by side and a control device for driving the excursion shelf units independently. Each of the excursion shelf units includes an e... | 10/31/1989 |
| 4775045 | Multi-level chain conveyor with load by-pass at selected levels A lift conveyor for conveying loads from one level to another comprises a first and second pair of offset endless chains trained over sprockets which guide the chains through their travel in a substantially parallel and spaced-apart relationship. The spro... | 10/04/1988 |
| 4739876 | Platform conveyor The invention relates to a platform conveyor, comprising a plurality of rectangular platforms, each being flexible in one direction, and two pairs of endless chains having equal lengths, and the pairs being connected to the corners at the front and rear s... | 04/26/1988 |
| 4732266 | Bearing construction for mounting carriers on an endless chain elevator An improved bearing construction for mounting carriers on an endless chain elevator. The elevator comprises a pair of endless chains mounted to travel in parallel offset vertical paths. The opposite corners of a plurality of carriers or platforms are conn... | 03/22/1988 |
| 4691642 | Multicable cable-car or gondola lift The cable-car or gondola lift according to the invention comprises two upper cables (10, 12) which laterally frame the upper part of the vehicle (18). The latter bears two support parts (20, 22) articulated on a single horizontal transverse axis of the ve... | 09/08/1987 |
| 4676364 | Conveying device The invention relates to a conveying device comprising a platform conveyor, which is provided with a plurality of rectangular platforms, each being flexible in one direction, and with two pairs of endless chains, the pairs being connected to the corners a... | 06/30/1987 |
