ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 17 -- United States Patent no. 12,312,183, issued on May 27, was assigned to SOFTWEAR AUTOMATION INC. (Cumming, Ga.).
"Material moving apparatus, systems and methods" was invented by D. Keith Appel (Atlanta), Michael J. Baker (Acworth, Ga.) and Jeremy Nagorka (Austell, Ga.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Material moving apparatus, systems and methods are presented which can include an air material mover. Airflow through orifices can create a localized vacuum such that the uppermost or top layer of material can be separated from the stack of material. The airflow can interact with the material to produce flutter, which assists in separating lower layers from the uppermost ...