Granted Patent B2

US 12,240,639 · App. 18/820,894 · Granted Mar 4, 2025

Inventor: Barak Bar-Cohen (Princeton, NJ)

Assignee: Sojo Industries, Inc.

B65B35/50B65B57/14F16M3/00

Abstract

Claims (58)

1. A product packing system comprising:

a plurality of product packing production sections comprising:

a product loading section comprising at least one loading lane configured to receive units of a product;

a conveyor section comprising at least one conveyor lane and configured to convey, away from the product loading section via the at least one conveyor lane, the received units of the product; and

a product packer section configured to receive, from the conveyor section, the conveyed units of the product, select a quantity of the units of the product, and place the selected units of the product into a product pack; and

a plurality of modular frame sections, each modular frame section supporting one of the plurality of product packing production sections and configured to connect to at least one adjacent modular frame section of the plurality of modular frame sections.

2. The product packing system of claim 1 , wherein the product loading section is configured to receive a case comprising the units of the product.

3. The product packing system of claim 1 , wherein at least one modular frame section, of the plurality of modular frame sections, comprises one or more electrical connectors and is configured to electrically connect to at least one adjacent modular frame section of the plurality of modular frame sections.

4. The product packing system of claim 1 , wherein at least one modular frame section, of the plurality of modular frame sections, comprises one or more communication connectors and is configured to communicatively connect to at least one adjacent modular frame section of the plurality of modular frame sections.

5. The product packing system of claim 1 , wherein at least one modular frame section, of the plurality of modular frame sections, comprises one or more compressed air connectors and is configured to fluidly connect to at least one adjacent modular frame section of the plurality of modular frame sections.

6. The product packing system of claim 1 , wherein at least one modular frame section, of the plurality of modular frame sections, comprises one or more mechanical connectors and is configured to mechanically connect to at least one adjacent modular frame section of the plurality of modular frame sections.

7. The product packing system of claim 1 , wherein at least one modular frame section, of the plurality of modular frame sections, comprises:

at least one communication line configured to connect to at least one corresponding communication line of an adjacent modular frame section of the plurality of modular frame sections; and

at least one power line configured to connect to at least one corresponding power line of the an adjacent modular frame section.

8. The product packing system of claim 7 , wherein the power line is an electrical power line.

9. The product packing system of claim 7 , wherein the power line is a compressed air power line.

10. The product packing system of claim 1 , further comprising a singulation section configured to arrange the received units of the product in a single-file arrangement, wherein the conveyor section is configured to convey the received units of the product away from the product loading section in the single-file arrangement.

11. The product packing system of claim 1 , wherein:

the received units of the product comprise different types of product units; and

the at least one conveyor lane comprises a plurality of adjacent conveyor lanes, each adjacent conveyor lane being configured to convey, away from the product loading section, one of the different types of product units.

12. The product packing system of claim 1 , wherein each modular frame section, of the plurality of modular frame sections, comprises:

a plurality of transport mechanisms; and

a plurality of leveling mechanisms;

wherein the plurality of leveling mechanisms are configured to transition between a first position and a second position; and

wherein the plurality of transport mechanisms are configured to engage a floor based on the plurality of leveling mechanism transitioning to the first position and configured to disengage the floor based on the plurality of leveling mechanisms transitioning to the second position.

13. The product packing system of claim 1 , further comprising a consolidated electrical panel configured to provide, via single-point electrical connection, electric power to each modular frame section of the plurality of modular frame sections, wherein each modular frame section further comprises one or more electrical connections configured to mate with one or more corresponding electrical connections of an adjacent modular frame section.

14. A method of providing a product packing system comprising:

assembling a plurality of modular frame sections into an assembled product packing system, each modular frame section being configured to connect to at least one adjacent modular frame section of the plurality of modular frame sections, and each modular frame section supporting one of a plurality of product packing production sections, wherein the plurality of product packing production sections comprises:

a product loading section comprising at least one loading lane configured to receive units of a product;

a conveyor section comprising at least one conveyor lane and configured to convey, away from the product loading section via the at least one conveyor lane, the received units of the product; and

a product packer section configured to receive, from the conveyor section, the conveyed units of the product, select a quantity of the units of the product, and place the selected units of the product into a product pack;

loading the assembled product packing system on a transport;

transporting the assembled product packing system toward an installation location using the transport;

unloading the assembled product packing system from the transport; and

moving the assembled product packing system to an installation site at the installation location.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein moving the assembled product packing system to the installation site comprises rolling the assembled product packing system to the installation site.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein:

each modular frame section comprises casters; and

rolling the assembled product packing system to the installation site comprises rolling the assembled product packing system to the installation site using the casters.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein:

each modular frame section comprises, on one or more sides of the modular frame section, at least one attachment point configured to attach to a drive system; and

moving the assembled product packing system to the installation site comprises attaching the drive system to at least one modular frame section and driving the assembled product packing system to the installation site using the drive system.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the drive system is controllable via a remote control unit.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the remote control unit comprises a mobile application in signal communication with the drive system.

20. The method of claim 14 , further comprising swapping a first modular frame section of the assembled product packing system with a second modular frame section after moving the assembled product packing system to the installation site.

21. The method of claim 14 , wherein loading the assembled product packing system on a transport comprises loading the assembled product packing system into a transport having a length of no more than about 53 feet and a width of no more than about 8 feet.

22. The method of claim 14 , wherein each modular frame section has a length of about 8 feet and a width of about 8 feet.

23. The method of claim 14 , wherein each modular frame section comprises a leveling system comprising:

plurality of casters; and

a plurality of leveling legs, wherein each of the plurality of leveling legs comprises:

an adjustable leveling foot that extends downward from the leveling leg; and

one of the plurality of casters, wherein the caster extends downward from the leveling leg and is positioned adjacent to the adjustable leveling foot;

wherein the adjustable leveling foot is configured to:

transition between a raised and lowered position;

cause the caster to disengage a floor based on the leveling foot transitioning from the raised position to the lowered position;

cause the caster to engage the floor based on the leveling foot transitioning from the lowered position to the raised position; and

modify a leveling of the modular frame section based on an adjustment made to the leveling foot while the caster is disengaged from the floor.

24. The method of claim 14 , further comprising leveling at least one modular frame section after moving the assembled product packing system to the installation site using a leveling system of the modular frame section.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (44)