US 12534313

Patent Overview: US 12,534,313 B2

Title: Camera-enabled loader system and method

Patent number / application: US 12,534,313 B2; Application No. US 18/642,239

Assignee: DCL Inc. (original and current assignee, per the record)

Inventor(s): Reinhard Matye; Richard S. Anderson

Key dates (from the record):

• Priority date: 2019-06-20 (noted as an assumption in the record)
• Filing date: 2024-04-22
• Publication of US 2024/0270518 A1: 2024-08-15
• Grant / publication of US 12,534,313 B2: 2026-01-27
• Anticipated expiration: 2040-06-18 (noted as an assumption)

Purpose: The patent concerns locating the center of an opening in a structure such as a portable storage tank and, more particularly, automatically locating the center of an opening in a vehicle so bulk material can be loaded through that opening. The background explains that liquids and flowable dry materials (gravel, ash, cement, coal, chemicals) are transported in bulk in vehicle storage compartments and delivered through an extendable loading spout that must be aligned with a hatch or opening. Manual alignment is described as imprecise, causing downtime, reduced throughput, and higher material costs.

Plain-language scope: In the described system, a camera is mounted to a movable spout support, angled downward toward the loading spout assembly, and captures images of the vehicle's top surface. Camera software analyzes pixel values and brightness differences to locate and track the hatch opening. The camera communicates the opening's position to a programmable logic controller (PLC). When the PLC determines the vehicle has stopped (the position remains unchanged for a predetermined period), it moves the loading spout assembly to a drop position over the opening. Optional features described include LED lighting at the frame corners and a non-contact distance sensor for vehicle height.

Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US12534313/en

What the excerpt does not establish: The supplied text is an excerpt; it omits the full claims and detailed description. It therefore does not establish the precise claim language, claim scope, or the full set of embodiments. It also contains no findings on validity, enforceability, or prior art, and none are evaluated here.