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:
Apr. 07, 1998
Filed:
Oct. 31, 1995
Alexis W De Frondeville, Somerville, MA (US);
Howard M Citron, South Salem, NY (US);
David K Asano, Yorktown Heights, NY (US);
Jeffrey H Hahn, Greenwich, CT (US);
Nynex Science & Technology, Inc., White Plains, NY (US);
Abstract
A mobile article transporter for carrying and storing a plurality of similar articles in a compact configuration. The transporter comprises a plurality of relatively friction-free conveyors located one above the other. Each conveyor includes a set of rollers that lie in an inclined plane along which the articles gravitate. Alternate ones of the conveyors tilt in opposite directions to form a Z-shaped structure through which the articles cascade to load the transporter from the bottom up. Pivoted article transfer carriages mount in the transporter for transferring articles between adjacent conveyors. The transfer carriages include guide arms and control arms that direct articles from an upper conveyor to the next lower conveyor. When the lower conveyor is filled with articles, the uppermost article thereon abuttingly engages the guide arms to prevent rotation of the transfer carriage, thereby preventing articles from gravitating onto the full conveyor. Articles may be loaded or unloaded from any point on the transporter or from a single point at either end of the transporter.