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:
Feb. 17, 2009
Filed:
May. 21, 2007
Kevin Duane Johnson, Cary, NC (US);
Ivan Neil Liverman, Middlesex, NC (US);
Eric Allen Stegner, Durham, NC (US);
Robert William Stegner, Raleigh, NC (US);
Kevin Duane Johnson, Cary, NC (US);
Ivan Neil Liverman, Middlesex, NC (US);
Eric Allen Stegner, Durham, NC (US);
Robert William Stegner, Raleigh, NC (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
A method and system is presented for ensuring that a latch securing a ramp to a pallet is properly aligned and seated before a product can be offloaded from the pallet and down the ramp. The system uses a latching system that has a pallet-attached base and a ramp-attached mating bracket. The pallet-attached base has two rods. The first rod has a retainer arm that is restricted by the second rod to a vertical position, thus preventing a shipment on the pallet from reaching the ramp. The second rod has a thin portion and a thick portion. The second rod must be laterally moved such that the mating bracket mates only with the thin portion of the rod. This lateral movement moves the second rod away from the first rod's retainer arm, thus allowing the retainer arm to fold down.