Patent ID: 12196732

Similar numbers refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A new device10, method of operation thereof and method of fabrication thereof, is depicted in the present disclosure and throughoutFIGS.1-9. Device10is a new and improved manufacturing test block for use with a piece of scanning equipment, namely a metal detector, as will be discussed hereafter.

Referring specifically toFIG.1andFIG.2, a top right side and top left side perspective view, respectfully, of an exemplary manufacturing test block device10with at least one plug12installed (inFIG.1) or exploded away (inFIG.2) is shown. The exemplary device10includes a body that is generally rectangular in nature. Device10including a first end10A, a second end10B longitudinally disposed to the first end10A. The exemplary device10further includes a top side10C, a bottom side10D vertically opposed from the top side10C. Additionally, the device10has a first side10E and a second side10F transversely opposed from the first side10E. In the exemplary shown device10, between the first side10E and the first end10A is a rounded portion10G that connects the first side10E with the first end10A that is generally convex in nature. Further, there are additional rounded portions10G that connect the first side10E with the second end10B, the second side10F with the first end10A, and the second side10F with the second end10B. Further, the exemplary device10may include a beveled region10H that tapers and spans between the top side10C and portions of the first end10A, second end10B, first side10E, and second side10F, respectfully. There may be an additional beveled region10H that tapers and spans between the bottom side10D and portions of the first end10A, second end10B, first side10E, and second side10F, respectfully.

Additionally, the device10includes a depression10J. In the depression identifying indicia may be present as will be discussed with respect to operation. Further, the device10has a given height H1, width W1and depth D1. While this device10is shown generally and as an exemplary embodiment as a cuboid shape, as will be discussed later with respect to fabrication, the height, width, and depth, could all be modified as required. Further, in alternative embodiments non-cuboid shapes could be used such as variations on prisms, cylinders and other similar shapes.

The at least one plug12has a top side12A and a bottom side12B vertically opposed from the top side12A. Proximate the top side12A is an outer graspable surface12C. While in the shown embodiment the graspable surface12C is knurled, one skilled in the art will understand this to be one of many desired implementations. For example, alternative embodiments may have a recessed portion to allow for grasping of a user, or may have a winged outer portion in order to turn the plug. Proximate the bottom side12B is a engagable surface12D. Also included on the plug12are identifying indicia12E. These indicia12E identify the type of plug12, as will be discussed with respect toFIG.4andFIG.5

Further included in the top side10C are a plurality of apertures14. A set of apertures14are proximate the first end10A, while another set of apertures14are proximate the second end10B, while a single aperture14is between the first end10A and the second end10B. While the number of apertures14in the exemplary embodiment is three proximate the first end10A, three proximate the second end10B, and a single aperture14is between the first end10A and the second end10B, this is merely exemplary. In other embodiments any configuration of apertures can be used, as will be discussed further with respect to operation. Further, in alternative embodiments the apertures may have different depths, dimensions and/or locations depending on the desired implementation. For example, there may be additional apertures located in different sides of the device10in alternative embodiments including the first end10A, second end10B, bottom side10D, first side10E or second side10F.

In the exemplary embodiment of the device10, the apertures14possess a matable surface14A. The matable surface14A is complementary to the engagable surface12D of the plug12. While the exemplary embodiment of the engagable surface12D of the plug12are threads and the matable surface14A are recesses to accept the threads, one skilled in the art will understand this to be one of many desired implementations and is not limited. In alternative embodiments, there may be any securement mechanism to secure the plug12within the aperture14such as snaps, clips, and other mechanisms of the like. In an alternative embodiment, the matable surface14A or the engagable surface12D may be covered with an adhesive and this thereby affixes the plug12to the device10.

Referring specifically toFIG.3, a cross sectional view along line3-3ofFIG.2, is shown. In this view, one may see the matable surface14A of the apertures14. Vertically below the matable surface14A is a smooth surface14B. One may understand that with the matable surface14A being complementary to the engagable surface12D of the plug12the matable surface may extend more or less depending on the desired implementation. Further the distance D2of the depth of the aperture14may depend on the desired implementation.

FIG.3A shows a cross sectional view of an alternative embodiment of an exemplary manufacturing test block with plugs removed. In this alternative embodiment, at least one of the apertures14is of a first diameter and depth that is substantially identical to the apertures14shown in FIG.3. However, FIG.3A also shows another of the apertures, namely aperture14′, having a second diameter and a second depth, where the second diameter and the second depth differ from the diameter and depth of the apertures14. It will be understood that a plug complementary in dimensions to aperture14′ will be selectively engageable in the aperture14′.

Further seen in this view is the interior10K of the device10. The interior of the device may be solid, may be hollow, or may be some combination thereof. Further, the interior10K may be filled with a separate material depending on the desired implementation as will be discussed with respect to operation.

Referring specifically toFIG.4andFIG.5, exemplary plugs are shown. Exemplary plugs12include a test piece12F as seen in cross section ofFIG.5. The indicia12E identify the type of test piece12F embedded in the plug12. Generally, the indicia will include the size of the test piece12F as well as the material which the test piece12F is composed.

Common indicators for the test piece12F include “F” for Ferrous or chrome steel, “NF” for Non-Ferrous, generally brass, and “SS” for grade 316 stainless steel. These are three metal options designed to be used in conjunction with a metal detector, but are not limited to merely these three. Other examples may include, but are not limited to grade304stainless steel, grade420stainless steel, grade440C stainless steel, titanium, phosphor bronze or aluminum. Further, in other situations, a non-metal substance or other contaminant may be used in order to be used in conjunction with an X-ray machine or other such similarly situated device. In that instance, the test piece12F may include but is not limited to, ceramic, soda lime glass, borosilicate glass, crystal glass, polytetrafluoroethylene, nylon, and/or nitrile. The interior12G of the plug12may be hollow, solid, filled with a different material, or some combination in between.

The size of the test piece12F are dependent on the product, testing method sensitivity, and the test piece12F composition. In some embodiments the test piece is spherical and between about 1 mm and about 10 mm in diameter. In other embodiments, the test piece is between about 2 mm and about 8 mm in diameter. In yet additional embodiments, the test piece is about 2.5 mm and about 6 mm in diameter. In further embodiments, there may be more than one test piece12F located within the plug12.

Having described the device, an exemplary method of manufacture will be described. A customer will approach with a specific package design and materials and methods of testing for those materials. This specific package design will contain the dimensions of the package itself, along with the weight of the package. The device10may then be fabricated with these dimensions and weight in mind. The plugs12are manufactured to contain the desired test material. The weight of the plugs12may be subtracted from the weight of the specific package design in order to obtain the weight of the device10. Knowing the desired weight of the device10, the device may be fabricated out of a number of food safe materials with varying densities while also being fabricated in a way to vary the density. In one embodiment computer assisted software may enable the optimal fabrication design when input to specific parameters including the height, width, depth of the device10along with the materials it is to be made of and any relevant densities.

In one embodiment, the device10may be constructed by a3D printer. Suitable materials or mixtures of materials may include, but are not limited to acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polylactic acid (PLA), acrylonitirle styrene acrylate (ACA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), glycolized polyester (PETG), polycarbonate (PC), polyetherimide (PEI), polyaryletherketone (PAEK), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), polyetherketoneketone (PEKK), polyphenylsulfone (PPSU), polypropylene (PP), polyamides (nylon), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), composite materials, and hybrid materials. In other embodiments, the device10could be constructed by blow molding, injection molding, rotational molding, compression molding, and/or thermoforming.

Once the device10is made with at least one corresponding plug12, the device10may be tested in conjunction with its detector. In the case of metal, that would be a metal detector. Alternatively, in the case of glass, that could be an x-ray machine and subsequent detector16. Referring specifically toFIG.6, an operational view of an assembly line18with the exemplary manufacturing test block10with a plug12installed as one of many normal packages20on a conveyor belt line18. Prior to this, the customer has provided specifications for the dimensions and weight for the device10, as well as the material choice and size desired to be tested for that has been placed within the plug12. The plug12has been placed into the aperture14and secured to the device10through the interface of the matable surface14A on the aperture14and the engagable surface12D of the plug12.

Referring specifically toFIG.7a further operational view of the assembly line18with the exemplary manufacturing test block10being passed under a detector16is shown. As the plug12has been doped with a contaminant in the form of the test piece12F, the detector16should recognize this is a contaminant and prepare to divert the test block10. In the illustrated embodiment, it is shown to be in the aperture14near the center of the device10between the first end10A and second end10B and first side10E and second side10F.

Different package sizes and different detectors have different sweep patterns. These sweep patterns are the way that the detector “sweeps” its scan across a package in order to properly scan for contaminants. In some instances, the sweep may be mistimed or ill-timed so as to miss contaminants by not scanning the entirety of the package. Unfortunately, prior art designs are poorly equipped in order to determine the sweep pattern effectiveness. Instead, recalls occur after the fact, or timely and error prone visual inspections must be done.

The device10allows the removal of the plug12from a first aperture14and placed into a second aperture14. As a result of this movement, the device10could be added to the assembly line in an iterative manner. Namely, one could add the device to the assembly line18with the plug12installed in each aperture14located on the device to make sure that the detector16is scanning the other packages properly. The plug12could be placed in any aperture14. In an exemplary embodiment, the plug would move between aperture14near the center of the device10between the first end10A and second end10B and first side10E and second side10F, to an aperture along the top side10C proximate the first side10E, then to another aperture along the top side10C proximate the first side10E and first end10A. The plug12may then continue to move along the top side10C to other apertures including the proximate the first side10E and second end10B, then proximate the second side10F and first end10A and finally proximate the second side10F and second end10B. This is merely exemplary movement and the movement may occur in any manner. Further, this is but one exemplary embodiment and depending on the ultimate shape of the device10, additional apertures and/or apertures in different locations may be required in the desired implementation.

Referring specifically toFIG.8, another further operational view of the assembly line18with the exemplary manufacturing test block12having been removed from the flow of the line18is shown. In the instance that the detector16detects the plug12with the test piece12F inside of it, the detector16will cause an alert, in at least one of an audible noise or light changing from “A” to “B” and promptly remove the device10from the flow of the assembly line18by any known method. In the exemplary example, this may be a kickoff arm18A into a rejected area22. As the detector16has been previously calibrated as described above, it will not accidently remove other packages from the line, or miss detecting the test piece12F.

Referring specifically toFIG.9, yet another further operational view of the assembly line18with the exemplary manufacturing test block10having been removed from the flow of the line18and the remainder of the line18continuing uninterrupted. The device10has been removed but other packages are allowed to move on. Prior art methods have caused a real package to be removed, or have caused additional packages to be removed as the detector arm may not be well calibrated. The device10along with varying the location of the plug12with the test piece12F inside of it is alone to be removed from the line, rather than catching other collateral packages.

Various inventive concepts may be embodied as one or more methods, of which an example has been provided. The acts performed as part of the method may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.

While various inventive embodiments have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing the function and/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the inventive embodiments described herein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the inventive teachings is/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific inventive embodiments described herein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, inventive embodiments may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Inventive embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individual feature, system, article, material, kit, and/or method described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the inventive scope of the present disclosure.

All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and/or ordinary meanings of the defined terms.

The articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.” The phrase “and/or,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims (if at all), should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with “and/or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/or B,” when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc. As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and/or” as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and/or” shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as “only one of” or “exactly one of,” or, when used in the claims, “consisting of,” will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term “or” as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (i.e. “one or the other but not both”) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or “exactly one of.” “Consisting essentially of,” when used in the claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.

As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.

When a feature or element is herein referred to as being “on” another feature or element, it can be directly on the other feature or element or intervening features and/or elements may also be present. In contrast, when a feature or element is referred to as being “directly on” another feature or element, there are no intervening features or elements present. It will also be understood that, when a feature or element is referred to as being “connected,” “attached” or “coupled” to another feature or element, it can be directly connected, attached or coupled to the other feature or element or intervening features or elements may be present. In contrast, when a feature or element is referred to as being “directly connected,” “directly attached” or “directly coupled” to another feature or element, there are no intervening features or elements present. Although described or shown with respect to one embodiment, the features and elements so described or shown can apply to other embodiments. It will also be appreciated by those of skill in the art that references to a structure or feature that is disposed “adjacent” another feature may have portions that overlap or underlie the adjacent feature.

Spatially relative terms, such as “under,” “below,” “lower,” “over,” “upper,” “above,” “behind,” “in front of,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if a device in the figures is inverted, elements described as “under” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “over” the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “under” can encompass both an orientation of over and under. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. Similarly, the terms “upwardly,” “downwardly,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “lateral,” “transverse,” “longitudinal,” and the like are used herein for the purpose of explanation only unless specifically indicated otherwise.

Although the terms “first” and “second” may be used herein to describe various features/elements, these features/elements should not be limited by these terms, unless the context indicates otherwise. These terms may be used to distinguish one feature/element from another feature/element. Thus, a first feature/element discussed herein could be termed a second feature/element, and similarly, a second feature/element discussed herein could be termed a first feature/element without departing from the teachings of the present invention.

An embodiment is an implementation or example of the present disclosure. Reference in the specification to “an embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “one particular embodiment,” “an exemplary embodiment,” or “other embodiments,” or the like, means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least some embodiments, but not necessarily all embodiments, of the invention. The various appearances “an embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “one particular embodiment,” “an exemplary embodiment,” or “other embodiments,” or the like, are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiments.

If this specification states a component, feature, structure, or characteristic “may,” “might,” or “could” be included, that particular component, feature, structure, or characteristic is not required to be included. If the specification or claim refers to “a” or “an” element, that does not mean there is only one of the element. If the specification or claims refer to “an additional” element, that does not preclude there being more than one of the additional element.

As used herein in the specification and claims, including as used in the examples and unless otherwise expressly specified, all numbers may be read as if prefaced by the word “about” or “approximately,” even if the term does not expressly appear. The phrase “about” or “approximately” may be used when describing magnitude and/or position to indicate that the value and/or position described is within a reasonable expected range of values and/or positions. For example, a numeric value may have a value that is +/−0.1% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−1% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−2% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−5% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−10% of the stated value (or range of values), etc. Any numerical range recited herein is intended to include all sub-ranges subsumed therein.

Additionally, the method of performing the present disclosure may occur in a sequence different than those described herein. Accordingly, no sequence of the method should be read as a limitation unless explicitly stated. It is recognizable that performing some of the steps of the method in a different order could achieve a similar result.

In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitional phrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” “holding,” “composed of,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of” shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the description and illustration of various embodiments of the disclosure are examples and the disclosure is not limited to the exact details shown or described.