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:
Jul. 20, 1993
Filed:
Apr. 03, 1992
Applicant:
Inventors:
Thomas J Stansfield, Mt. Airy, MD (US);
Anthony J Barbera, Columbia, MD (US);
Dwight R Koogle, Middletown, MD (US);
M L Fitzgerald, Columbia, MD (US);
Assignee:
Advanced Technology and Research Corporation, Laurel, MD (US);
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B65G / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
414278 ; 414331 ; 414274 ;
Abstract
An article handling system comprises closed loop pathways, movable carriers adapted to travel along the pathways, a plurality of article storage buffer stations located adjacent to the pathways, and a hierarchical control system for controlling the transfer of articles to or from a given one of the article storage buffer stations by a movable carrier. The buffer stations provide distributed article storage which allows the system to operate with enhanced speed and efficiency.