ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 17 -- United States Patent no. 12,312,178, issued on May 27, was assigned to FedEx Corp. (Memphis, Tenn.).
"Telescoping conveyor" was invented by John A. Barron III (Canonsburg, Pa.), Colin Askew (Alexandria, Minn.), Jason Hoyt (Alexandria, Minn.), Jared Spindler (Glenwood, Minn.) and James Glade (Alexandria, Minn.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Extendable conveyor system and operating processes for the same. An extendable conveyor system that includes a plurality of conveyor segments, a conveyor extension/retraction system, and a control system. The plurality of conveyor segments are interlocked in a telescoping configuration with individual conveyor segments at least p...