Simplimatic Engineering Company

Other

John A Wiseman

James F Murphy, Jr

Gregory S Burns

A board game and methods for playing the same are disclosed. The board game can include a playing surface having a plurality of playing spaces, and a plurality of playing pieces that comprise at least first and second player playing pieces, wherein each playing piece is assigned a numerical value, and wherein the numerical value corresponds to: a movement value, wherein the movement value corresponds to the number of playing spaces that each playing piece can move on the playing surface; and a challenge value, wherein the challenge value corresponds to a challenge between a first player playing piece and a second player playing piece, wherein the second player playing piece can be removed from the playing surface when the first player playing piece has an equal or greater challenge value then the second player playing piece and when the first player playing piece is moved into the second player playing piece's playing space.

Board game

A set of rail facing strips is provided for use with an article carrying conveyor system, the facing strip set comprising a rail facing member for affixing to opposing conveyor guide rails for establishing at least one section of said conveyor where a conveyor chain is relatively freely removable from the conveyor raceway in a direction substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of said conveyor, said rail facing member being characterized by a first leg for covering at least a pair of outer surfaces of said guide rail, said facing member also having a second leg joined to said first leg at substantially a right angle thereto, said second leg for extending into said raceway and substantially covering inner edges of said guide rails, said second leg being dimensioned and shaped along its length so as to clear a channel formed in said chain, whereby said second leg permits said body to move transversely out of said raceway without inner tabs found in said chain engaging a portion of said second leg to retain said chain in said raceway, the facing strip set further comprising a modified rail facing member for establishing at least one section where said chain is lockingly retained in said raceway by extending into said channel to retain said leg in said raceway.

Article carrying conveyor and wearstrip set therefor

A device is provided for unloading parts from a plurality of stacked trays. The device includes a receiving station with an elevator for lifting a topmost tray to a predetermined position; a temporary holder for the topmost tray while the elevator lowers the remaining trays a preselected distance; a conveyor for moving from an initial position to below the topmost tray; the temporary holder further for releasing the topmost tray onto the conveyor for conveying to an unloading station; an unloader disposed above the topmost tray to unload it; an additional elevator for receiving the topmost tray after unloading; and the conveyor further for returning to the initial position to receive the next topmost tray.

Dunnage handling system

A wheel turn bracket assembly is provided for an article conveying system for coupling inbound and outbound tracks of a moving surface conveyor to inbound and outbound sides respectively of a wheel turn at an angle between said tracks that can be adjustably selected depending upon the angle of the desired turn.

Wheel turn and hanger bracket assembly therefor

A method is provided for forming a rigid joint between two tubular frame members positioned end to end but not necessarily in abutment, each said member having a tubular wall defined by an outer surface and an inner surface defining an interior passageway, each member being congruent with the other said member in the region of the ends to be joined, each said member having a substantially square cross section with at least one pair of diagonally opposing corners. The method comprises the step of securing one of said members to the other by passing at least a pair of elongated fastening means, one through each member, diagonally through the wall of each member at diagonally opposing corners of said member adjacent the ends to be joined. Said pair of fastening means also passes through and engages a rigid coupling disposed about the outside surface of said tubular wall in the region of said opposing corners and extends on either side of the joint for rigidly holding said members to each other in proper end to end alignment.

Method for splicing tubular frame members

An easily assembled and disassembled modular construction for an air conveyor comprises standardized side, bottom and top walls adapted to be assembled together, at the point of use if so desired, to produce a conveyor section, with individual sections being joined together to produce conveyors of desired length and configuration. The top wall constitutes the wall over which the conveyed objects move, the bottom and top walls can be provided in varying widths, and the standardized side walls are configured to receive and hold the top and bottom walls, to have brackets mounted thereon, which brackets can carry auxiliary elements such as side guide rails or top covers for the conveying space, and to receive splice plates and other elements, all preferably through the use of headed fasteners the heads of which are received in key slots provided on the outer surfaces of the side walls.

Modular air conveyor construction

Movement of the case conveyor is terminated with the leading flap aligned with a flap engaging element mounted above the case on the end shaft. The shaft is rotated to cause the element to engage and partially open the leading flap. The shaft is supported by a carriage which is movable along a track extending in the direction of conveyor movement. As the element reaches its final rotational position, movement of the carriage along the track is initiated, causing the element to pivot the leading flap to the open position. Movement of the conveyor is then resumed as the carriage returns to its initial position. The rotational and translational movements of the element are independently actuatable and adjustable.

Case opening apparatus

A guide mechanism for a case packer is characterized by a mounting member, a plurality of guide member fingers, and a plurality of expansion springs, each spring connecting a different finger to the mounting member and also biasing the bottom of the finger towards a converging position with the other finger bottoms. The springs act substantially vertically, enabling substantially unlimited universal pivoting of the fingers relative to the mounting member and thereby reducing the likelihood of finger breakage in the event of a jam.

Guide mechanism and finger

In a case packer, wide mouth bottles are conveyed to a platform where they are arranged in alignment with the cells in the case and thereafter held in position by suction cups. The platform is rotated to suspend the bottles, mouth down, over the case. The bottles are gravity fed into cells in the case formed by upstanding partitions. A guide mechanism is interposed between the platform and the case to correct misalignment of the partitions and to guide the bottles into the cells. The guide mechanism includes, for each cell, a pair of rigid guide members aligned with opposing corners of the cell. The guide members are pivotally mounted to a grid, in opposing spaced relationship, such that the members are movable between a closed, closely opposed and preferably mutually engaging position, inclined towards one another, and an opened mutually separated, generally vertical position. Each member includes first and second sections. The first section has an interior surface which engages the corresponding surface on the opposing member, when the members are in the closed position, to form a solid pyramidal shaped structure, which is received in the cell, to correct misalignment of the partitions, prior to releasing the bottles from the platform. The structure has a relativey sharp point greatly facilitating the correction of the position of grossly misaligned partitions. The second section, which has a concave inner surface corresponding to the curvature of the bottle wall, serves to guide the bottle into the cell as it is released from the platform. As the bottle travels between the opposing second sections of the member pair, the members move to the open position, causing same to further position the partitions. Each member has a pair of exterior surfaces joined to form an edge. The edge is adopted to be received in the corner of the cell when the member is received therein.

Guide mechanism for loading wide mouth bottles in cases

Apparatus for positioning intersecting partitions in a container to form compartments to receive articles comprises a support plate and a plurality of straightening heads extending from the support plate in a given direction. Each of the heads is adapted to engage a respective intersection of two partitions in the container and defines an intersecting pair of open bottom slots for receipt therein of the respective partition intersection. Means are also provided for moving the support plate between a first position wherein the heads are spaced from the respective partition intersections and a second position wherein the heads engage the respective partition intersections to position the partitions. Because the straightening heads operate on the intersections of the partitions rather than in the center of the compartments, the apparatus is capable of straightening more deformed partitions, fewer straightening heads are required, and the same straightening head may be used to straighten compartments of different sizes.

Growing community of inventors

Lynchburg, VA, United States of America

John A Wiseman