ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 28 -- United States Patent no. 12,448,230, issued on Oct. 21, was assigned to Rockwell Automation Technologies Inc. (Mayfield Heights, Ohio).
"Virtual slots for independent cart system" was invented by Brian M. Perreault (Stow, Mass.), Yuhong Huang (Acton, Mass.) and Daniel I. Lanier (North Billerica, Mass.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Virtual slots are provided to coordinate traffic flow in an independent cart system. Multiple virtual slots are defined along a length of a track for the independent cart system. The track includes multiple track segments, and the independent cart system includes a linear drive system to propel movers along the track. Each of the virtual...