US Patent Issued to Laitram on Sept. 2 for "Conveyor belt and modules" (Louisiana Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 3 -- United States Patent no. 12,404,109, issued on Sept. 2, was assigned to Laitram LLC (Harahan, La.).

"Conveyor belt and modules" was invented by Gilbert J. MacLachlan (Harahan, La.) and David Aaron van Schalkwijk (Metairie, La.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A modular plastic conveyor belt constructed of injection-molded belt modules having narrowed portions either above or below rod holes in hinge elements. The narrowed portions are formed by a restricted-flow region in an injection-mold cavity that ensures that weld lines in the hinge elements are angled off the pull line of the conveyor belt."

The patent was filed on Feb. 4, 2022, under Application No. 18/272,50...