Did You Know...
...that power steering was invented by independent inventor Francis W. Davis? As chief engineer in the 1920s of the truck division of the Pierce Arrow Motor Car Company, he saw how hard it was to steer heavy vehicles. So that he would be able to keep the profits from his future invention, Davis left his job, rented a small engineering shop in Waltham, Mass., and developed a hydraulic power steering system that led to power steering.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8190288 | Method and position regulating device for controlling the operation of a load bearing apparatus, based on two dimensions The invention describes a method and a position control system (22″) for controlling operation of a computer-controlled load handling device, with a displacement drive for a displacement unit, a lift drive for a vertically displaceable lifting unit and an a... | 05/29/2012 |
| 8082060 | Mail processing system and method of loading articles with reduced speed A mail processing system has an infeed line coupled to receive a first article from a feeder. A loading device is coupled to receive the first article from the infeed line at a first speed, and a transfer unit is coupled to receive the first article from the loading... | 12/20/2011 |
| 8065036 | Electrical equipment for material flow coordination between a plurality of conveyors, which are mechanically connected to one another, for conveying piece goods The electrical equipment of mechanical conveyors and the associated material flow coordination between them, when a plurality of conveyors for conveying piece goods is connected, are provided. Intelligent motor starters are included, which are associated with the in... | 11/22/2011 |
| 8060245 | High volume conveyor sortation system A sortation system and method of sorting product includes providing a sorter assembly and a supply system supplying product that is received by the sorter assembly. Product supplied to the sorter assembly is monitored and a parameter is determined that is indicative... | 11/15/2011 |
| 8055379 | Device and method for the inspection of containers An arrangement for inspecting filled and closed containers (F), having a transporting means (3) which transports the containers (F) for a preset distance of travel at a speed of transport VTrans and at which are arranged a plurality of holding elem... | 11/08/2011 |
| 8050795 | Conveyor drive control system A drive control system for conveyor utilizes a dynamic chain pull calculation program that is integrated with a PLC, which communicates to a plurality of controllers. The controllers in turn automatically adjust their associated drive motors so as to maximize effici... | 11/01/2011 |
| 8024065 | Methods and apparatus for transferring a substrate carrier within an electronic device manufacturing facility In one aspect, a method is provided for electronic device manufacturing. The method includes receiving a request to transfer a carrier to or from a first substrate loading station of an electronic device manufacturing facility, and assigning one of a plurality of ca... | 09/20/2011 |
| 8019469 | Networkable zone control modules and method and conveyor system incorporating the same Contiguous independently-controllable conveyor system zones are controlled by zone control modules executing a program element associated with each module. Each module is coupled with an object detector and a conveyor zone actuator. A two-way zone control module com... | 09/13/2011 |
| 8000835 | Center of gravity sensing and adjusting load bar, program product, and related methods An apparatus, program product, and related methods for gravity stabilizing a suspended load are provided. The apparatus includes an center of gravity stabilized automated adjusting load bar in communication with a mobile cart which allows an operator to enable autom... | 08/16/2011 |
| 7996104 | Driver board control system for modular conveyor with address-based network for inter-conveyer communication A method and control system are provided for controlling a modular conveyor system, which may be networked together with other such systems in order to implement a control strategy for a modular conveyor system. The control system comprises a communications port for... | 08/09/2011 |
| 7987141 | Dynamically changing label size during mail processing The present subject matter relates to a method and system for labeling a mail piece, and more specifically, to the application of variable sized labels to mail pieces based on the contents of the label and real-time mail processing information. More particularly, th... | 07/26/2011 |
| 7930063 | Dual-type product reworking system and control method thereof A reworking system includes a reworking machine configured for reworking products belonging to a first type and a second type, a main conveyer belt configured to transport the products to be reworked, first and second branch conveyer belts connected to the main conv... | 04/19/2011 |
| 7912576 | Calibration of high speed loader to substrate transport system In one aspect, a system is disclosed having a substrate carrier loader adapted to load substrate carriers onto a moving conveyor; and a controller coupled to the substrate carrier loader, the controller adapted to assist in at least one of alignment of the substrate... | 03/22/2011 |
| 7904198 | Pick and place gripper Tooling is described for securing to the movable end of a computer-controlled robotic arm, by which articles can be picked up, optionally rotated and lowered into a new position. The tooling comprises two blades each having a leading edge and trailing edge, movable ... | 03/08/2011 |
| 7894934 | Remote conveyor belt monitoring system and method A remote conveyor belt monitoring system for monitoring an operation of a conveyor belt at a first geographic location. A local HMI is operable to acquire and store data representing conveyor belt conditions and operating characteristics. First and second computers ... | 02/22/2011 |
| 7756603 | System and methodology providing coordinated and modular conveyor zone control The present invention relates to conveyor control system and methodology that may be operatively coupled with other such systems in order to implement a control strategy for a modular conveyor system. A module and/or series of modules are provided that clamp to a ca... | 07/13/2010 |
| 7751930 | Automatic empty carrier storage, retrieval and distribution system The present invention relates to pneumatic tube systems generally. More specifically, it relates to an automated system for the storage and distribution of empty carriers for a pneumatic tube system. The system comprises an easy to use one-touch process and includes... | 07/06/2010 |
| 7751931 | Design support apparatus and design support method therefor A design support apparatus that can easily verify the conveyance design for a flexible medium based on input design information. A transit time is calculated when a flexible medium passes a characteristic point on a conveying path based a conveying conditions that a... | 07/06/2010 |
| 7738995 | Systems and methods for use in electronic processing of foreign origin and export shipments and/or passengers and baggage at security check points The present invention provides systems and methods for processing foreign origin parcels through Customs and individuals through security checkpoints. The system includes a database stored on a computer readable medium having data records associated with each foreig... | 06/15/2010 |
| 7725213 | Sortation conveyor apparatus and methods Sortation conveyor apparatus and methods for selectively diverting articles from a primary conveying surface onto branch lines are provided. In one embodiment, a method comprises assigning memory cells to first and second articles based upon the location of the arti... | 05/25/2010 |
| 7720567 | Automated box opening apparatus An apparatus includes a conveyor, a programmable motion device, and a controller. The conveyor preferably includes actuatable rollers, and the programmable motion device is preferably a robotic arm. The controller operates the conveyor, a stopping rail, and a positi... | 05/18/2010 |
| 7720566 | Control algorithm for vertical package conveyor Three software programs are respectively run on the main processing constituent of a programmable logic controller (PLC), the network-controlling constituent of the PLC, and a human interface unit. Intelligent (e.g., switch, sensor, control, etc.) devices are distri... | 05/18/2010 |
| 7657343 | Assembling system, assembling unit, layout arranging system and layout arranging method A layout arranging system doing automatic layout of a system being constituted of assembling units. More particularly, a layout arranging system (102) communicable with a plurality of connectable conveyors (C/V 1-12), comprising a module for rec... | 02/02/2010 |
| 7613542 | Reference-based automatic address assignment system and method for a material handling system A material handling system and method of automatic address assignment of components of the material handling system, includes a conveying surface divided into a plurality of zones, a plurality of motors propelling each zone, a plurality of lower level controllers an... | 11/03/2009 |
| 7577495 | Speed monitoring method in an automation system for a conveyor installation The invention relates to a speed monitoring method in a automation system for a conveyor installation, particularly for a pit. A speed monitoring method is provided that eliminates the need for detection elements for determining position that are arranged along the ... | 08/18/2009 |
| 7542823 | Zone controlled conveyor system and a zone controller for use therein The invention aims to provide a zone controlled conveyor system including a plurality of zones for control. A zone controlled conveyor system, while conveyance of any article from a zone to a downstream zone is forbidden, (a) starts operation of a driving roller in ... | 06/02/2009 |
| 7440880 | Design support program and design support method A computer readable design support program for inspecting a processing operation of software that controls a sheet conveyance mechanism by displaying the behavior of feeding a virtual sheet from a virtual sheet stock portion on a display portion, includes a sheets n... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7426555 | Method, system, and storage medium for providing continuous communication between process equipment and an automated material handling system Exemplary embodiments of the invention include a method and system for providing continuous communication between passive equipment and active equipment. The method includes monitoring signals received from a passive equipment or active equipment. The signals relate... | 09/16/2008 |
| 7424340 | System and method for pneumatic transport A pneumatic transport system has a plurality of interconnected stations for transporting a carrier containing a material. Pneumatic travel tubes interconnect the stations. Each station has a rotatable cartridge assembly with a first tube for pass-through of the carr... | 09/09/2008 |
| 7409326 | Design support method and design support program A design support method for support design of a conveying path by simulating a behavior of a sheet-like flexible medium to be conveyed along a conveying path, includes: a conveying condition setting step of setting drive conditions of conveying rollers for conveying... | 08/05/2008 |
| 7398135 | Method for simulating conveyance of medium A method for simulating the behavior of a flexible medium which is conveyed along a conveying path constructed of a pair of conveyor rollers includes the steps of dividing the surfaces of the conveyor rollers into a contact region and a non-contact region and settin... | 07/08/2008 |
| 7376486 | Board positioning device and board positioning method This invention provides a board positioning method where a stopper and so on are not required when positioning a printed board in an X direction. Servo motors of a board supplying conveyer portion and a board positioning portion are driven to start carrying of a boa... | 05/20/2008 |
| 7360638 | Integrated control card for conveying systems A material handling system, and method of controlling the material handling system, includes a conveying surface with a plurality of individually controlled zones and a plurality of motors. At least one of the motors propelling the conveying surface at each zone. A ... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7363106 | System and method for carrier identification in a pneumatic tube system A system and method provides for the identification and monitoring of carriers within a pneumatic carrier system. Each carrier which is to be employed within the system includes an identification device such as a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip which has ... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7356378 | Method and system for smart vehicle route selection In one aspect a factory automation system for a wafer fab is provided. The factory automation system comprises: a manufacturing execution system (“MES”) for providing lot information; a material control system (“MCS”) for providing dynamic traffic informatio... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7355687 | Method and apparatus for vehicle service system with imaging components An improved vehicle wheel service system for servicing a vehicle wheel assembly, configured with one or more imaging sensors to accurately measure distances, dimensions, and characteristics of features associated with a vehicle wheel assembly undergoing a service. | 04/08/2008 |
| 7343219 | Device used to organise flat packets according to a determined sequence A device used to arrange flat packets according to a determined sequence of delivery points associated with receiver addresses, whereby below a continuous part of a surrounding pocket ring designated as a covering area, one part of a collector belt, which is displac... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7330685 | Photoconductive image formation apparatus In a printer 10 provided with image formation units 60a to 60d arranged in tandem so as to be in contact with an intermediate transfer belt 52 that is stretched taut between a driving roller 53 and driven rollers 5... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7328084 | System and method for carrier identification in a pneumatic tube system A system and method provides for the identification and monitoring of carriers within a pneumatic carrier system. Each carrier which is to be employed within the system includes an identification device such as a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip which has ... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7318585 | Image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus to reverse a sheet, includes a branched conveyance path branched from a connection point between an entry and conveyance path and a reversal and conveyance path provided downstream of the entry and conveyance path. When a sheet conveyor fe... | 01/15/2008 |
