Other

Valmont Industries, Inc.

Mueller International, LLC

Gta Containers, Inc.

Costa Technologies

Larry J Costa

Dail L Swanson

Yatish J Joshi

Louise E Addicott

Charles A Burton

A method for authenticating an article including engraving a circular feature into a verification substrate that includes a plurality of concentric rings within the circular feature arranged in a pattern according to a data encoding schema, wherein at least one of the plurality of rings includes a surface anomaly. The method can include capturing a first image of the circular feature and storing the first image in a memory device. The verification substrate can be attached to an article to traced and/or authenticated. A second image of the circular feature can be captured and compared with the first image to determine if the surface anomaly is present in the second image, thereby authenticating the article.

Identification authentication security method and apparatus for encoding data on an article

A harsh environment enclosure for use with sensor systems, such as cameras. The enclosure can include a housing having an end wall, sidewalls, a top wall, and a bottom wall. A door is hinged to the top wall. The enclosure can have a linkage assembly including a door lever having an elongate first end portion connected to the door, a laterally extending second end portion, and an elbow positioned therebetween. A pivot arm having a proximal end is connected to an interior surface of the housing and a distal end of the pivot arm is connected to the elbow. An actuator can be connected between the housing and the laterally extending second end portion. The linear actuator can be positioned with respect to the door lever and pivot arm to move the door to an open position when extended and a closed position when retracted.

Harsh environment enclosure

A material dispensing system can comprise a first and second supply container housing a first and second material, respectively, comprising a first and second fluid, respectively; a first and second metering cylinder fluidly connected to the first and second supply container, respectively, the second metering cylinder configured to move from a first to a second stroke position in unison with the first metering cylinder; a dispensing head configured to receive a first and second liquid of the first and second fluids, respectively; a first recycling valve positioned between the first metering cylinder and the dispensing head; and a second recycling valve positioned between the second metering cylinder and the dispensing head, the first and second recirculating valves configured to draw a portion of the first and second fluids back into the first and second supply containers, respectively, in an open position.

Material dispensing system with gas removal

A method and apparatus for encoding data on a work piece. The method includes engraving a plurality of first features (e.g., circular features) on the work piece, wherein the plurality of first features are arranged in a first pattern. The method also includes engraving a plurality of second features (e.g., rings) on the work piece within a selected one of the plurality of first features. The plurality of second features are arranged in a second pattern according to a data encoding schema such as binary code or code 39.

Method and apparatus for encoding data on a work piece

A selectable symbol engraving tool for use with a CNC machine. The engraving tool includes a housing and an array of styluses supported in the housing. A pattern disk is rotatably supported in the housing and is connectable to a spindle of the CNC machine. The pattern disk includes a plurality of hole patterns, each selectable via rotation of the spindle and including one or more clearance holes corresponding to a symbol. The array of styluses is positioned to confront a selected one of the plurality of hole patterns such that styluses corresponding to the clearance holes are retracted and the remaining styluses are extended. The extended styluses are operative to engrave the symbol corresponding to the selected hole pattern in a work piece via orbiting about a virtual axis of rotation when the selectable character engraving tool is moved in a circular motion by the CNC machine.

Multi-stylus orbital engraving tool

A method of binding a first item to a second item includes: loading the first item and the second item into a sealed chamber defined by a housing; dispensing an adhesive agent through a dispenser in the chamber at a location where the first item contacts the second item; and directing a curing source to cure the adhesive agent with a curing device.

System and method for bonding

A system for dispensing and curing activation of an adhesive agent includes: a housing defining a sealed chamber; a dispenser arranged to dispense the adhesive agent within the chamber; and a curing device arranged to cure the adhesive agent within the chamber. A method of binding a first item to a second item includes: loading the first item and the second item into a sealed chamber defined by a housing; dispensing an adhesive agent through a dispenser in the chamber at a location where the first item contacts the second item; and directing a curing source to cure the adhesive agent with a curing device.

An orbiting camera mount including an anti-rotation arm for connection to a spindle nose of a machine tool. A stationary pulley, having a pulley bore, is fixed to an end portion of the anti-rotation arm. The mount also includes a mounting post for connection to a spindle of the machine tool. The mounting post includes a drive shaft portion extending through the pulley bore. A drive housing is fixed to the drive shaft portion for rotation therewith and an output shaft is supported in the drive housing. A driven pulley is fixed to the output shaft and a drive belt extends between the stationary and driven pulleys, whereby rotation of the mounting post causes the output shaft to orbit around the drive shaft portion. A camera mounting stem is coupled to the output shaft and is oriented at a non-zero angle with respect to the drive shaft portion.

Controlled camera off-axis alignment for the dynamic bore-surface-structure inspections via rotational/orbital/rotational orbiting angular off-axis controlled vision camera systems and their corresponding optical positional/angular alignment datum's

A selectable symbol engraving tool for use with a CNC machine. The engraving tool includes a housing and an array of styluses supported in the housing. A pattern disk is rotatably supported in the housing and is connectable to a spindle of the CNC machine. The pattern disk includes a plurality of hole patterns, each selectable via rotation of the spindle and including one or more clearance holes corresponding to a symbol. The array of styluses is positioned to confront a selected one of the plurality of hole patterns such that styluses corresponding to the clearance holes are refracted and the remaining styluses are extended. The extended styluses are operative to engrave the symbol corresponding to the selected hole pattern in a work piece via orbiting about a virtual axis of rotation when the selectable character engraving tool is moved in a circular motion by the CNC machine.

A harsh environment camera system. The system can include an enclosure having an electronics compartment and a camera compartment with a camera opening. A camera module is disposed within the camera compartment and one or more electronic components capable of generating heat are positioned in the electronics compartment. A compressed gas connector, connectable to a gas source, can be mounted on the enclosure. A metering orifice having an inlet and an outlet is in fluid communication with the connector. The metering orifice is operative to cool a gas flowing therethrough, thereby condensing moisture from the gas. A gas conduit is in fluid communication with the outlet of the orifice and extends through the electronics compartment to the camera compartment. A portion of the gas conduit is positioned in close proximity to the one or more electronic components, whereby the gas is heated prior to entering the camera compartment.

Harsh environment vision camera system

A spindle mountable camera system connectable to a CNC machine for work piece inspection and identification. The camera system includes a mounting stem connectable to a CNC machine tool holder. The mounting stem includes an air passage connectable to an air supply of the CNC machine. An enclosure is attached to the mounting stem and includes a camera opening. A camera module is disposed within the enclosure and an air supply line is connected between the mounting stem and the camera module. An enclosure cover is pivotably mounted to the enclosure proximate the camera opening. One or more pneumatic cylinders are connected to the air passages and extend between the enclosure and the enclosure cover to move the enclosure cover between an open position and a closed position.

Spindle mountable camera system

The progressive die tooling component carrier is adapted to serve as a hinge connection between the components that it connects. The carrier allows for the reeling of a series of components for storage and transportation without causing the warping or bending of the components. Preferably, the hinge connection is achieved by providing the carrier with a compression, a perforation, or both a compression and a perforation. The carrier is designed to further minimize the scrap resulting from the removal of the carrier from the adjoining components.

Method for hingedly coupling components with one another

Hingeable component carrier

A liquid storage tank and a method of fabricating and testing the liquid storage tank. The tank is collapsible for ease of transportation when not holding a liquid and includes a base portion and a top portion. The base portion has a bottom wall and a frusto-conical sidewall that is sealed to the bottom wall. The top portion is sealed to the sidewall, and has a flexible opening. The opening is linear in the preferred embodiment and is openable to draw liquid from the tank and closable to prevent contaminants from entering the tank. The bottom wall is substantially circular and the top portion includes two substantially semi-circular sections joined and overlapped along the straight edges to form an overlapped region. The sidewall includes generally triangular-shaped sections, and the sections are joined to one another with seams that extend in a slightly helical fashion about the tank. The opening includes a slit in the overlapped region and two L-shaped members. Each L member has a horizontal leg and a vertical leg. The vertical legs are adjacent one another with the slit located therebetween. The horizontal legs are attached to the top portion. The vertical legs have sealed extended ends and include a releasable closing mechanism for opening and closing the opening. The liquid storage tank may be inverted through the opening for ease in cleaning the tank, and the tank may be placed on an incline of up to at least ten degrees with the tank being filled to capacity and wherein no liquid will spill from the opening. A method of pressure testing the tank is provided.

Growing community of inventors

Mooresville, NC, United States of America

Larry J Costa