Richard J. Davis of Rowlett, Texas, and Leonard Paul Siemantel of Garland, Texas, have developed a material handling system and a method for isolating a carrier mechanism from the system.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (Alexandria, Va.): "The system comprises a track having a channel, a turntable, and a carrier mechanism coupled to the track structure via the channel. The system further comprises a maintenance station, comprising a stub track, wherein the stub track is operably coupled to the track structure via the turntable."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The maintenance station further comprises a power supply and one or more connectors operable to electrically couple the carrier to the power supply. One or more stop blocks are provided which are removably coupled to the stub track, wherein the stop blocks each comprise a body having a rod extending therefrom. The rod is operable to pass through a hole in the stub track channel, wherein a pin is removably coupled to the rod, therein selectively fixing the stop block to the track."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 7,117,800 on Oct. 10. The patent has been assigned to Texas Instruments Inc., Dallas. The original application was filed on Oct. 12, 2005. Click here to view it.
Source: U.S. Bureau, U.S .Fed News
