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:
Mar. 26, 1996
Filed:
Jan. 21, 1993
William Van Durrett, Charlotte, NC (US);
Gerald W Hieronymus, Charlotte, NC (US);
Marguerite A Pond, Charlotte, NC (US);
Todd D Price, Charlotte, NC (US);
Margaret L Scurry, Charlotte, NC (US);
William C Steene, Gastonia, NC (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
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.