The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 09, 2025
Filed:
Jan. 16, 2024
Applicant:
Illinois Tool Works Inc., Glenview, IL (US);
Inventor:
Douglas A. Imes, Greer, SC (US);
Assignee:
ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC., Glenview, IL (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B65G 47/69 (2006.01); B65G 47/26 (2006.01); B65G 47/32 (2006.01); B65G 47/51 (2006.01); B65G 47/57 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
B65G 47/69 (2013.01); B65G 47/261 (2013.01); B65G 47/32 (2013.01); B65G 47/5109 (2013.01); B65G 47/57 (2013.01); B65G 2201/0235 (2013.01); B65G 2203/041 (2013.01);
Abstract
A system for controlling a flow of articles includes two or more conveyor sections driven in a feed direction to convey articles. A plurality of sensors, each sensor associated with a conveyor section, count the articles in each lane. An accumulator conveyor is associated with a conveyor section and runs in an opposite direction to permit accumulation.