Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130070083 | RAIL STRESS DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD - A system for detecting stress in rails includes a railcar, having a rail temperature detector, and a rail imaging device oriented to produce images of rail joints and rail anchors. The imaging device and temperature detector are connected to a computer controller, which is programmed to provide an output signal indicative of estimated axial stress in the rail based upon rail temperature and the images of at least one of the rail joints and rail anchors. | 03-21-2013 |
20140271071 | SELF-UNLOADING AGGREGATE TRAIN - A self-unloading aggregate train including a plurality of hopper cars and an individual conveyor belt located beneath each hopper car. The head pulley at one end of each individual conveyor belt may rotate the belt in a direction from a tail pulley towards the head pulley. The head pulley of one hopper car is positioned above and adjacent of a tail pulley of the adjacent hopper car. This arrangement of hopper cars with individual conveyor belts may be used to unload material from the train. The individual conveyor belts may be adapted so that the trajectory of material transfer to an adjacent belt is near the pivot point between the adjacent hopper cars. The individual conveyor belts may have a substantially constant slope. The hopper of the hopper cars may also be configured with a substantially constant slope that matches the slope of the individual conveyor belts. | 09-18-2014 |
20140373807 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONVERTING A DIESEL ENGINE TO BE POWERED BY NATURAL GAS - A method for converting a fuel-injected diesel engine to be powered by natural gas includes removing a fuel injector from a cylinder of the engine, replacing the removed fuel injector with a combined fuel injection and ignition unit having a natural gas flow path and an ignition device, coupling the natural gas flow path to a pressurized natural gas fuel supply, and connecting the ignition device to an ignition control system. The combined fuel injection and ignition unit is configured to inject the natural gas into the cylinder, and the ignition device is configured to ignite the natural gas in the cylinder, under control and coordination of the ignition control system for operation of the engine. | 12-25-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080263455 | GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE FOR ELECTRONIC FILE SHARING - A method, implementable in a system coupled to a display device and a network, includes generating in a first region of a screen of the display device a user-interface portion associated with a first electronic destination address. The user-interface portion is configured to receive from a second region of the screen, in response to a command by a user of the system, a first icon representing a data set. In response to the user-interface portion receiving the first icon, a copy of the data set, or the data set itself, is electronically transferred over the network to the first destination address. | 10-23-2008 |
20080263456 | GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE FOR ELECTRONIC FILE SHARING - A method, implementable in a system coupled to a display device and a network, includes generating on a screen of the display device a first icon representing a data set. In response to a command by a user of the system to transfer respective copies of the data set over the network to multiple recipients, a visual indication of the status of the transfer of the copies to the recipients is displayed in association with the first icon. In response to each copy being completely received by each recipient, the visual indication is prompted to indicate transfer completion. | 10-23-2008 |
20130145277 | GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE FOR ELECTRONIC FILE SHARING - A method, implementable in a system coupled to a display device and a network, includes generating in a first region of a screen of the display device a user-interface portion associated with a first electronic destination address. The user-interface portion is configured to receive from a second region of the screen, in response to a command by a user of the system, a first icon representing a data set. In response to the user-interface portion receiving the first icon, a copy of the data set, or the data set itself, is electronically transferred over the network to the first destination address. | 06-06-2013 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20110170986 | Threaded Stud With Locking Pawl - A threaded fastener-nut combination for attaching two work pieces together has means for preventing the intrusion of the fastener threads into the bores of each work piece, thus preventing damage to the work piece which may result from such intrusion. The stud member has a pawl member which extends radially outward to engage an aperture in the nut member, which locks the nut member to the stud member. The engagement of the nut member to the threaded portion of the stud member produces both audible and tactile feedback to indicate that the fastener is properly placed and engaged. Tactile feedback is returned through the emergence of the pawl through the aperture in the nut, and by the rotation of the entire fastener assembly upon the provision of further tightening effort. Auditory feedback is provided through a “click” or similar sound produced when the pawls engages the aperture of the nut. | 07-14-2011 |
20130200057 | SYSTEM FOR MOUNTING A TRACTOR UNIT ON A GUIDE TRACK - A mounting mechanism for connecting a tractor unit to a guide track, the mounting mechanism includes a fixed block having a first set of rolling devices and a movable plate having a second set of rolling devices. The distance between the first and second sets of rolling devices is adjustable by moving the movable plate to engage or disengage the tractor unit to the guide track. A clamping assembly is provided with a shaft, cam spring, and cam handle for adjusting the distance between the first and second rolling devices. When the cam handle is in an open position, the distance between the rolling devices is greater than the width of the guide track and when the cam handle is in a closed position the distance between the rolling devices is approximately equal to the width of the guide track. | 08-08-2013 |
20130306612 | ADJUSTABLE CLAMPING MECHANISM OF A WELD HEAD WITH QUICK RELEASE INSERT - Techniques, systems, and devices are described for a weld head that includes an adjustable clamping mechanism with a quick release insert. In one aspect, a weld head having an adjustable clamping mechanism for clamping a welding work piece includes a weld head containment structure having an opening that receives a welding work piece, a clamping member located inside the opening of the weld head containment structure and including a pivot joint for clamping the welding work piece to the weld head, a handle member connected to the clamping member at the pivot joint to rotate the clamping member when the handle member is moved, and an actuator coupled to the clamping member to enable the clamping member to pivot on the pivot joint to different clamping positions for clamping welding work pieces of different sizes. | 11-21-2013 |
20140263205 | TORCH HEIGHT MECHANSIM - A torch height adjustment mechanism includes a welding torch head connected to a torch plate; a first four-bar linkage between the torch plate and a linkage interface; a second four-bar linkage between the linkage interface and a mounting plate for connecting the torch-height adjustment mechanism to an automatic welding unit; a shaft providing rotational movement to the second four-bar linkage; and means for communicating rotational movement of a first link of the second four-bar linkage to a first link of the first four-bar linkage to translate the torch plate vertically without rotation along a path between a raised position and a lowered position. | 09-18-2014 |
20140263257 | MULTI-FUCTION ORBITAL WELDING SYSTEM - A torch head in a welding system for applying a weld to a workpiece, the torch head including a torch head body having a first side, a second side, an inward side and a outer side, the torch head body further including a lower surface and a top surface forming a solid; the torch body defining a slot extending from the lower surface to the top surface on the first side; an electrode assembly including an electrode mounted on the torch body, the electrode extending downward relative to the lower surface of the torch body; a wire adjustment assembly including a bracket supporting a wire guide that receives a wire from a wire supply; the bracket being attached to a rack and pinion supported within the slot, the rack being located inward of the pinion and slideable within the slot, the pinion being rotatable within the slot, and engaged with the rack to move the bracket vertically upon rotation of the pinion to adjust the vertical position of the wire. | 09-18-2014 |
20150129557 | ORBITAL WELDER WITH FLUID COOLED HOUSING - A welding system comprising a frame having a curved profile configured to at least partially surround a cylindrical work piece, a welding torch supported on the frame a motor supported on the frame and extending outward therefrom the motor being connected to at least one of the frame around the welding torch to move the welding torch relative to the workpiece a motor housing in which at least a portion of the motor is received, the motor housing defining a cooling receiver a cooling assembly adapted to circulate a coolant through the housing, the cooling assembly including a supply line and a return line connected to a cooling insert, the cooling insert being received in the cooling receiver, the cooling insert defining a cooling passage through which the coolant is circulated; wherein the supply line and return line are sealingly attached to the cooling insert with the motor housing. | 05-14-2015 |
20150129573 | POSITIVE LOCKING HANDLE AND SELF CENTERING MECHANISM FOR TRACK ENGAGEMENT - The invention described herein generally pertains to locking mechanisms for levers operable to mount a tractor unit to a guide track and to engage a drive gear of the tractor unit to a track gear of the guide track. The levers for mounting the tractor unit and/or to engage the drive gear are lockable in a closed position. The closed position relates to a state of the levers when the tractor unit is mounted on the guide track or when the drive gear is engaged with the track gear. The levers can be easily operable to mount/dismount or engage/disengage, respectively. | 05-14-2015 |
20150129580 | ORBITAL WELDER WITH WIRE HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT ASSEMBLY - A welding system for applying a weld to a workpiece, the welding system including a frame, a welding torch mounted on the frame, the welding torch including an electrode; a wire guide adapted to direct a wire toward the electrode; a wire alignment assembly including a fixture frame having a wire guide holder mounted thereon, the wire guide being supported on the wire guide holder, wherein the wire alignment assembly includes multiple degrees of freedom for adjusting the position of the wire guide as needed for a given welding operation. | 05-14-2015 |
20160067835 | CART FOR WELDING OPERATION - A cart adapted to perform a welding operation on a workpiece, the cart including a moving platform; a first slide supported on the moving platform defining a first slide plane; a second slide pivotally attached to moving platform, the second slide defining a second slide plane; a second damp engagable with the second slide to hold a pivotal position of the second slide at a selected slide angle relative to the moving platform; an implement supported on the first slide and second slide, wherein operation of the first slide and the second slide move the implement to a selected position relative to the workpiece. | 03-10-2016 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130125688 | TRACTOR UNIT DRIVE GEAR ENGAGEMENT DEVICE - A tractor unit system includes a tractor unit that has a travel drive gear. The travel drive gear includes a drive gear portion and at least one drive roller portion. The system also includes a guide track that has a track gear. The track gear includes a track gear portion and at least one land portion. The at least one drive roller portion and the at least one land portion are configured such that the at least one drive roller portion contacts the at least one land portion when the drive gear portion is engaged to the track gear portion. In some embodiments, a diameter of the at least one drive roller portion is equal to a pitch diameter of the drive gear portion. If the track gear portion is curved, in some embodiments a diameter of the at least one land portion equals a pitch diameter of the track gear portion. In other embodiments, if the track gear portion is straight, a dimension of the at least one land portion equals a pitch line of the track gear portion. | 05-23-2013 |
20130126494 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MOUNTING A TRACTOR UNIT ON A GUIDE TRACK - A tractor unit mounting mechanism includes a clamping assembly that is configured to engage and disengage the tractor unit to a track guide. The tractor unit includes at least two pivot blocks with each pivot block including at least one rolling device and a locking mechanism. The at least one rolling device is designed to roll on a rail of the guide track. The clamping assembly is configured to operatively connect the at least one rolling device with the guide track when the tractor unit is engaged. The pivot block is configured to pivot such that the at least one rolling device can conform to a profile, e.g., a concave profile, convex profile, a straight profile, or any combination thereof, of the guide track as the tractor unit is engaging the guide track. The locking mechanism, e.g., a bushing, is configured to prevent the pivot block from pivoting once the tractor unit has engaged to the guide track. | 05-23-2013 |
20130126495 | WELD HEAD ANGLE ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM - A weld head angle adjustment system includes a weld head, a base unit, and an angle adjustment mechanism. The weld head includes a welding torch and an arc voltage control assembly that is operatively connected to the welding torch and configured to move the welding torch. The angle adjustment mechanism is operatively connects the weld head to the base unit and is designed to change an angle between the welding torch and the base unit while ensuring that an orientation between the welding torch and the arc voltage control assembly remains fixed as the angle between the welding torch and the base unit is changed. In some embodiments, the angle adjustment mechanism includes a bolt that connects the weld head to the base unit. The angle adjustment mechanism is configured such that the angle between the welding torch and the base unit can be adjusted when the bolt is in a first state and the angle is fixed when the bolt is in a second state. | 05-23-2013 |
20130126497 | SYSTEM FOR MOUNTING A TRACTOR UNIT ON A GUIDE TRACK - A tractor unit mounting mechanism includes a clamping assembly that is configured to engage and disengage a tractor unit to a guide track. The guide track includes a first rail and a second rail. The mounting assembly also includes at least one pivot block set that has a first pivot block and a second pivot block. Each of the first pivot block and the second pivot block includes a first rolling device and a second rolling device. When the tractor unit is in a disengaged position, a first distance between an outer portion of the first rail and an outer portion of the second rail is greater than a second distance between the first rolling devices of the at least one pivot block set, and the first distance is less than a third distance between the second rolling devices of the at least one pivot block set. | 05-23-2013 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20160110700 | TRANSACTION AUDIT SUGGESTIONS BASED ON CUSTOMER SHOPPING BEHAVIOR - Systems, methods, and computer program products to perform an operation comprising receiving location data identifying a plurality of areas visited by a person in a shopping environment providing self-serve-checkout, identifying, based on the location data, a first product located in a first area of the plurality of areas in the shopping environment visited by the person, and returning an indication to perform an audit to determine whether the person is in possession of the first product without including the first product as part of a purchase completed by the person using self-serve-checkout. | 04-21-2016 |
20160110797 | METHOD, COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT, AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING A SENSOR-BASED ENVIRONMENT - Method, computer program product, and system to facilitate a checkout transaction for a person within an environment having a plurality of items. The method includes determining, using a visual sensor disposed within the environment, image information associated with the person. The method further includes analyzing the image information to identify one or more of the plurality of items that are selected by the person to be presented during the checkout transaction. In some cases, the method also includes determining whether the identified items belong to a predetermined class of items deemed to be “difficult.” The method further includes determining, based on the one or more identified items, a level of assistance to provide to the person during the checkout transaction. | 04-21-2016 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20150252290 | Renewably Derived Aldehydes and Methods of Making and Using the Same - Methods for making specialty chemical products and chemical intermediates using hydroformylation are generally disclosed. Further, compositions and compounds formed using such methods are also disclosed. In some embodiments, methods are disclosed for refining a renewably sourced material, such as a natural oil, to form compositions, which can be further reacted employing the methods disclosed herein to form certain specialty chemical products or chemical intermediates. | 09-10-2015 |
20150259505 | Dibasic Esters and the Use Thereof in Plasticizer Compositions - Dibasic esters (diesters) and their use in plasticizer compositions are generally disclosed. In some embodiments, the diesters are branched-chain esters of long-chain alkanedioic acids, such as octadecanedioic acid. In some embodiments, such plasticizer compositions are used to increase the plasticity of a polymer resin, such as a vinyl chloride resin or poly vinyl butyral. In some other embodiments, such plasticizer compositions are used to lower the glass transition temperature of a polymer resin. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the plasticizer is derived from a renewable source, such as a natural oil. | 09-17-2015 |
20150299613 | Methods of Refining and Producing Dibasic Esters and Acids from Natural Oil Feedstocks - Methods are provided for refining natural oil feedstocks and producing dibasic esters and/or dibasic acids. The methods comprise reacting a terminal olefin with an internal olefin in the presence of a metathesis catalyst to form a dibasic ester and/or dibasic acid. In certain embodiments, the olefin esters are formed by reacting the feedstock in the presence of a metathesis catalyst under conditions sufficient to form a metathesized product comprising olefins and esters, separating the olefins from the esters in the metathesized product, and transesterifying the esters in the presence of an alcohol to form a transesterified product having olefin esters. | 10-22-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130085288 | METHODS OF REFINING AND PRODUCING DIBASIC ESTERS AND ACIDS FROM NATURAL OIL FEEDSTOCKS - Methods are provided for refining natural oil feedstocks and producing dibasic esters and/or dibasic acids. The methods comprise reacting a terminal olefin with an internal olefin in the presence of a metathesis catalyst to form a dibasic ester and/or dibasic acid. In certain embodiments, the olefin esters are formed by reacting the feedstock in the presence of a metathesis catalyst under conditions sufficient to form a metathesized product comprising olefins and esters, separating the olefins from the esters in the metathesized product, and transesterifying the esters in the presence of an alcohol to form a transesterified product having olefin esters. | 04-04-2013 |
20130204022 | METHODS OF REFINING AND PRODUCING ISOMERIZED FATTY ACID ESTERS AND FATTY ACIDS FROM NATURAL OIL FEEDSTOCKS - Methods are provided for refining natural oil feedstocks and producing isomerized esters and acids. The methods comprise providing a C4-C18 unsaturated fatty ester or acid, and isomerizing the fatty acid ester or acid in the presence of heat or an isomerization catalyst to form an isomerized fatty ester or acid. In some embodiments, the methods comprise forming a dibasic ester or dibasic acid prior to the isomerizing step. In certain embodiments, the methods further comprise hydrolyzing the dibasic ester to form a dibasic acid. In certain embodiments, the olefin is formed by reacting the feedstock in the presence of a metathesis catalyst under conditions sufficient to form a metathesized product comprising olefins and esters, separating the olefins from the esters in the metathesized product, and transesterifying the esters in the presence of an alcohol to form a transesterified product having unsaturated esters. | 08-08-2013 |
20140121402 | METHODS OF REFINING AND PRODUCING DIBASIC ESTERS AND ACIDS FROM NATURAL OIL FEEDSTOCKS - Methods and systems for making dibasic esters and/or dibasic acids using metathesis are generally disclosed. In some embodiments, the methods comprise reacting a terminal olefin ester with an internal olefin ester in the presence of a metathesis catalyst to form a dibasic ester and/or dibasic acid. In some embodiments, the terminal olefin ester or the internal olefin ester are derived from a renewable feedstock, such as a natural oil feedstock. In some such embodiments, the natural oil feedstock, or a transesterified derivative thereof, is metathesized to make the terminal olefin ester or the internal olefin ester. | 05-01-2014 |
20150119602 | HIGH PURITY DIBASIC ACID COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS OF MAKING THE SAME - High-purity dibasic acid compositions are generally disclosed. In some embodiments, the dibasic acid compositions are solutions or suspensions. In some other embodiments, the compositions are solid-state compositions. In some such embodiments, the solid-state compositions include a dibasic acid as a crystalline solid and further include a low quantity of certain impurities, such as monobasic acids, various esters, and the like. Methods and systems for making such high-purity dibasic acid compositions are also disclosed. | 04-30-2015 |