International Business Machines Corporation

Gerald Whitfield Hieronymus

Michael L Sendelweck

Joe William Woods

William Van Durrett

James Everett West

William C Steene

Marguerite A Pond

Todd D Price

Margaret L Scurry

An automatic palletizer system loads a random set of different size and weight boxes onto a pallet without a prior knowledge of the boxes to be loaded. As the boxes pass along a conveyor belt on the way to the pallet, a weighing, dimensioning, and scanning station determines the weight, dimensions and contents of each box. A processor uses this information to continuously remap the optimal pallet configuration for the loading of the remaining boxes as the pallet is loaded. A queuing station, under direction of the processor, reshuffles the sequence of a limited number of boxes to improve the final pallet configuration. The pallet is loaded by a robot arm under direction of the processor.

Automated palletizing system

A valve assembly having a small volume cavity formed therein which communicates with two valves, one of which is closed completely before the other one is opened and vice versa. An actuating mechanism holds a valving member in one of the valves in an opened condition to thereby maintain a fluidic path through the one valve and the cavity. The other valving member at this time lies in a closed position preventing communication between this valve and the cavity. The actuating mechanism when actuated moves away from the valving member in the open valve allowing the open valve to close completely. The fluidic path through the one valve is thereby broken. A second fluidic path is made when the actuating mechanism moves the other valving member to an opened position.

Fast acting two-way valve

Growing community of inventors

Lexington, KY, United States of America

Gerald Whitfield Hieronymus