CN220033369U - Goods shelf device for stacking - Google Patents

Goods shelf device for stacking Download PDF

Info

Publication number
CN220033369U
CN220033369U CN202321200056.2U CN202321200056U CN220033369U CN 220033369 U CN220033369 U CN 220033369U CN 202321200056 U CN202321200056 U CN 202321200056U CN 220033369 U CN220033369 U CN 220033369U
Authority
CN
China
Prior art keywords
frame
movable
pushing
stacking
pushing frame
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Active
Application number
CN202321200056.2U
Other languages
Chinese (zh)
Inventor
康土富
黄敏豪
蒲胜辉
李伟桥
刘贤伟
谢绍结
周家祥
潘文俊
罗荣英
唐健强
李志国
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Guangdong Nanlu Intelligent Equipment Technology Co ltd
Original Assignee
Guangdong Nanlu Intelligent Equipment Technology Co ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Guangdong Nanlu Intelligent Equipment Technology Co ltd filed Critical Guangdong Nanlu Intelligent Equipment Technology Co ltd
Priority to CN202321200056.2U priority Critical patent/CN220033369U/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CN220033369U publication Critical patent/CN220033369U/en
Active legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

Links

Landscapes

  • Warehouses Or Storage Devices (AREA)

Abstract

The utility model discloses a goods shelf device for stacking, which comprises a movable frame, a goods carrying shelf arranged on the movable frame and a pushing frame assembly for pushing the goods carrying shelf, wherein a goods frame is arranged in the goods carrying shelf, sectional materials can be stacked in the goods frame, the pushing frame assembly comprises a movable driving piece, a pushing frame transmission piece and a pushing frame mechanism, the pushing frame mechanism is connected with the pushing frame transmission piece, a cross rod is arranged at the bottom of the goods carrying shelf, the movable driving piece is in transmission connection with the pushing frame transmission piece, the pushing frame mechanism can be abutted to the inner side or the outer side of the cross rod, the pushing frame mechanism comprises a movable plate, a telescopic driving piece, a telescopic rod and a stop block, and the telescopic driving piece can drive the stop block to protrude out of the surface of the movable plate or be positioned below the movable plate. By adopting the utility model, batch sectional materials can be stacked and taken, and the stacking efficiency and the material taking efficiency are improved.

Description

Goods shelf device for stacking
Technical Field
The utility model relates to the technical field of section bar stacking, in particular to a goods shelf device for stacking.
Background
The existing profiles need to be stored for standby after being cut, and in order to save space, the profiles usually need to be stacked for standby. Conventional enterprises usually use forklifts or portal frames to stack profiles, but the stacking mode is low in efficiency, the existing part of equipment for stacking profiles is usually provided with fork-type clamping mechanisms, the fork-type clamping mechanisms are used for clamping and lifting the profiles, and after the fork-type clamping mechanisms lift the profiles to a preset height, the moving mechanisms of the stacking devices drive the fork-type clamping mechanisms to send the profiles into a material pile to form stacks. Limited by the clamping mode, the stacking device can only clamp the profiles with a small quantity for stacking at a time, and can only take out the profiles with a small quantity at a time when taking materials, and the stacking device is not suitable for batch profiles with a large quantity and heavy weight, so that the stacking and taking efficiency is not high.
Disclosure of Invention
The utility model aims to solve the technical problem of providing a goods shelf device for stacking, which can stack and take batch sectional materials and improves stacking efficiency and material taking efficiency.
In order to solve the technical problems, the utility model provides a goods shelf device for stacking, which is used for stacking sectional materials and comprises a movable frame, a carrying shelf arranged on the movable frame and a pushing frame assembly used for pushing the carrying shelf, wherein a slideway is arranged on the movable frame, the carrying shelf and the pushing frame assembly are both arranged on the slideway, a goods frame is arranged in the carrying shelf, and the sectional materials can be stacked in the goods frame.
The pushing frame assembly comprises a movable driving piece, a pushing frame transmission piece and a pushing frame mechanism, wherein the movable driving piece is in transmission connection with the pushing frame transmission piece, the movable driving piece can drive the pushing frame transmission piece to reciprocate on the slideway, the pushing frame mechanism is connected with the pushing frame transmission piece, a cross rod is arranged at the bottom of the cargo carrying frame, and the pushing frame mechanism can be abutted to the inner side or the outer side of the cross rod.
As an improvement of the scheme, the cargo carrying frame comprises a bottom frame and side frames, wherein the side frames are vertically arranged on two sides of the bottom frame, the bottom frame and the side frames enclose the cargo carrying frame, the bottom frame is formed by arranging a plurality of cross bars, and the side frames are formed by arranging a plurality of long bars.
As the improvement of above-mentioned scheme, carry cargo rack still includes lifting portion, lifting portion locates the both ends of chassis, lifting portion forms the plane upwards slope in the plane that the chassis formed, lifting portion is equipped with the pull rod, the pull rod level sets up and is arranged in lifting portion keep away from the one end of chassis, push away frame mechanism can the butt in the inboard or the outside of pull rod.
As the improvement of above-mentioned scheme, push away frame mechanism includes movable plate, flexible driving piece, telescopic link and dog, the movable plate keep flat in the chassis below, the stiff end of flexible driving piece is located on the movable plate, the expansion end of flexible driving piece with the one end of telescopic link is fixed, the other end of telescopic link with the dog is connected, flexible driving piece can drive the dog protrusion in the movable plate surface or be located the movable plate below.
As the improvement of above-mentioned scheme, pushing away the frame mechanism still includes the hinge piece, the one end of hinge piece with keep away from in the telescopic link one end of flexible driving piece articulates mutually, the other end with the bottom of movable plate articulates mutually, flexible driving piece can drive the hinge piece is in the bottom swing of movable plate, the one end of dog articulate in the bottom of movable plate and with the hinge piece is connected, during the swing of hinge piece, can drive the one end protrusion of dog in the upper surface of movable plate or drive the dog swings to the below of movable plate upper surface, the dog lateral part can the butt in the horizontal pole or the inboard or the outside of pull rod.
As an improvement of the scheme, the inner side of the movable frame is provided with the sliding rail, both sides of the movable plate are provided with the sliding grooves, the sliding rail can be embedded into the sliding grooves, the upper surface of the movable plate is not higher than the upper surface of the sliding rail, and the cargo carrying frame slides on the upper surface of the sliding rail.
As an improvement of the scheme, the movable frame further comprises stop blocks, the stop blocks are arranged at two ends of the sliding rail, and the side parts of the movable plate can be abutted to the stop blocks.
As an improvement of the scheme, the movable driving piece is fixed at the bottom of the movable frame, the pushing frame transmission piece is a chain, the pushing frame transmission piece is wound on the movable end of the movable driving piece, and two ends of the movable plate are fixed on the pushing frame transmission piece.
As the improvement of above-mentioned scheme, remove the frame still includes side lever and connecting rod, the side lever with the quantity of connecting rod is 2, the side lever with the connecting rod encloses into the rectangle, the side lever is located the both ends of connecting rod, the slide is located on the side lever, the slide rail is located the side lever inside wall, push away the frame driving medium and be located 2 between the side lever.
The implementation of the utility model has the following beneficial effects:
the goods shelf device for stacking is provided with a movable shelf, a carrying shelf arranged on the movable shelf and a pushing shelf assembly for pushing the carrying shelf, wherein a goods shelf is arranged in the carrying shelf, the goods shelf has a certain depth and can accommodate a certain number of sectional materials, the sectional materials are stacked in the goods shelf, the pushing shelf assembly comprises a movable driving piece, a pushing shelf transmission piece and a pushing shelf mechanism, and the pushing shelf mechanism can slide the whole carrying shelf on the movable shelf through the driving of the movable driving piece so as to push all the sectional materials in the carrying shelf and the carrying shelf into a stock tool to form a larger stack. When the section bar is required to be taken, the pushing frame mechanism is abutted to the inner side of the cross bar, and the whole cargo carrying frame and the section bar are pulled out simultaneously by the movable driving piece, so that the batch section bar taking is realized. Therefore, stacking and taking of batch sectional materials can be realized in a side pushing mode, and stacking efficiency and material taking efficiency can be improved.
Drawings
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a first view of a shelving unit for stacking in accordance with the utility model;
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the structure of the carrier of the present utility model;
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the structure of the pushing frame mechanism of the present utility model;
fig. 4 is a schematic view of a second view of a shelving unit for stacking in accordance with the utility model.
Detailed Description
The present utility model will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, for the purpose of making the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present utility model more apparent. It is only stated that the terms of orientation such as up, down, left, right, front, back, inner, outer, etc. used in this document or the imminent present utility model, are used only with reference to the drawings of the present utility model, and are not meant to be limiting in any way.
Referring to fig. 1 and 2, the embodiment of the utility model discloses a shelf device for stacking section bars, which comprises a movable frame 1, a carrying frame 2 arranged on the movable frame 1, and a pushing frame assembly 3 for pushing the carrying frame 2, wherein the movable frame 1 is driven by an external moving mechanism, and the movable frame 1 and the section bars on the movable frame 1 can be moved to a proper position of a stock tool for stacking. The movable frame 1 is provided with a slideway 11, the cargo carrying frame 2 and the pushing frame assembly 3 are arranged on the slideway 11, a cargo carrying frame 21 is arranged in the cargo carrying frame 2, sectional materials can be stacked in the cargo carrying frame 21, the cargo carrying frame 21 has a certain depth, a sufficient space is provided for accommodating the sectional materials in batches, the pushing frame assembly 3 can push the cargo carrying frame 2 and the sectional materials out of the slideway 11 together after the sectional materials are stacked in the cargo carrying frame 21. Specifically, the pushing frame assembly 3 includes a moving driving member 31, a pushing frame driving member 32 and a pushing frame mechanism 33, the moving driving member 31 is in transmission connection with the pushing frame driving member 32, the moving driving member 31 can drive the pushing frame driving member 32 to reciprocate on the slideway 11, the pushing frame mechanism 33 is connected with the pushing frame driving member 32, a cross bar 221 is arranged at the bottom of the cargo carrying frame 2, and the pushing frame mechanism 33 can be abutted to the inner side or the outer side of the cross bar 221.
When the profile is required to be pushed into the stock tool, the pushing frame mechanism 33 can be abutted against the outer side of the cross bar 221, and then the moving driving piece 31 pushes the pushing frame mechanism 33 towards the direction of the stock tool through the pushing frame transmission piece 32, so that the carrier 2 and the profile are pushed into the stock tool. When the cargo carrying frame 2 and the profile are required to be taken out from the stock fixture, the pushing frame mechanism 33 is close to the stock fixture and is abutted against the inner side of the cross bar 221, and then the moving driving piece 31 pulls out the pushing frame mechanism 33 in a direction away from the stock fixture through the pushing frame driving piece 32, so that the cargo carrying frame 2 and the profile are taken out.
The embodiment of the utility model has the following beneficial effects:
the goods shelf device for stacking according to the embodiment of the utility model is provided with a movable frame 1, a goods carrying frame 2 arranged on the movable frame 1 and a pushing frame assembly 3 for pushing the goods carrying frame 2, wherein a goods carrying frame 21 is arranged in the goods carrying frame 2, the goods carrying frame 21 has a certain depth and can accommodate a certain number of sectional materials, the sectional materials are stacked in the goods carrying frame 21, the pushing frame assembly 3 comprises a movable driving piece 31, a pushing frame transmission piece 32 and a pushing frame mechanism 33, and the pushing frame mechanism 33 can slide the whole goods carrying frame 2 on the movable frame 1 through the driving of the movable driving piece 31 so as to push all the sectional materials in the goods carrying frame 2 and the goods carrying frame 2 into a stock tool to form a larger stack. When the profile is required to be taken, the pushing frame mechanism 33 abuts against the inner side of the cross bar 221, and the moving driving member 31 is utilized to simultaneously pull out the whole cargo carrier 2 and the profile, so that the profile can be taken in batches. Therefore, stacking and taking of batch sectional materials can be realized in a side pushing mode, and stacking efficiency and material taking efficiency can be improved.
The cargo rack 2 comprises a bottom frame 22 and side frames 23, wherein the side frames 23 are vertically arranged on two sides of the bottom frame 22, the bottom frame 22 and the side frames 23 enclose the cargo rack 21, so that the depth of the cargo rack 21 corresponds to the height of the side frames 23, the bottom frame 22 is formed by arranging a plurality of cross bars 221, and the side frames 23 are formed by arranging a plurality of long bars 231. The pushing frame mechanism 33 can push different cross bars 221 under the bottom frame 22, and for a profile with a short length, the profile is insufficient to span across two ends of the carrier 2, so that the pushing frame mechanism 33 can push the cross bars 221 as close as possible to the center of gravity of the carrier 2. After most of the loading frame 2 is pushed into the stock fixture, the pushing frame mechanism 33 moves to one end of the loading frame 2 far away from the stock fixture, abuts against the outermost end of the bottom frame 22, and pushes the loading frame 2 into the stock fixture.
In addition, in order to smoothly take out materials, the cargo rack 2 further includes a lifting portion 24, the lifting portion 24 is disposed at two ends of the chassis 22, a plane formed by the lifting portion 24 is inclined upward to a plane formed by the chassis 22, the lifting portion 24 is provided with a pull rod 241, the pull rod 241 is horizontally disposed and located at one end of the lifting portion 24 away from the chassis 22, and the pushing frame mechanism 33 can be abutted against an inner side or an outer side of the pull rod 241. Due to the inclined arrangement, a certain distance is provided between the highest position of the lifting part 24 and the bottom of the lifting part 24, so that after the cargo carrier 2 enters the stock fixture, a certain distance is provided between the lifting part 24 and the storage plane of the stock fixture, the pushing frame mechanism 33 can extend into the lifting part 24 and abut against the inner side of the pull rod 241, and then the moving driving piece 31 drives the pushing frame mechanism 33 to pull the cargo carrier 2 together with the section bar. During stacking, the pushing frame mechanism 33 can also abut against the outer side of the pull rod 241 to push the carrier 2 together with the profile into the stock fixture.
Specifically, referring to fig. 3, the pushing frame mechanism 33 includes a moving plate 331, a telescopic driving member 332, a telescopic rod 333, and a stop 334, where the moving plate 331 is horizontally placed below the bottom frame 22, the moving plate 331 can slide below the bottom frame 22, the sliding of the moving plate 331 does not affect the sliding of the cargo carrying frame 2 on the slideway 11, the fixed end of the telescopic driving member 332 is disposed on the moving plate 331, the movable end of the telescopic driving member 332 is fixed with one end of the telescopic rod 333, the other end of the telescopic rod 333 is connected with the stop 334, and the telescopic driving member 332 can drive the stop 334 to protrude from the surface of the moving plate 331 or be located below the moving plate 331. When the telescopic driving piece 332 drives the stop block 334 to protrude out of the surface of the moving plate 331, the stop block 334 can be abutted against the cross bar 221 or the pull rod 241, so that the cargo carrying frame 2 can be pushed, and when the telescopic driving piece 332 drives the stop block 334 to retract below the moving plate 331, the moving plate 331 can freely slide below the bottom frame 22, so that feeding stacking or taking operations can be performed.
Further, in order to avoid that the telescopic driving member 332 is directly subjected to the reaction force of the stop block 334, the pushing mechanism 33 further includes a hinge block 335, one end of the hinge block 335 is hinged to one end of the telescopic rod 333 away from the telescopic driving member 332, the other end of the hinge block 335 is hinged to the bottom of the moving plate 331, the telescopic driving member 332 can drive the hinge block 335 to swing at the bottom of the moving plate 331, one end of the stop block 334 is hinged to the bottom of the moving plate 331 and connected with the hinge block 335, and when the hinge block 335 swings, one end of the stop block 334 can be driven to protrude from the upper surface of the moving plate 331 or drive the stop block 334 to swing below the upper surface of the moving plate 331, so that the side of the stop block 334 can abut against the inner side or the outer side of the cross bar 221 or the pull rod 241. The reaction force of the stopper 334 directly acts on the hinge point of the stopper 334 and the moving plate 331, thereby avoiding damage to the telescopic driving member 332.
In order to limit the moving direction of the moving plate 331, a sliding rail 12 is disposed on the inner side of the moving frame 1, sliding grooves are disposed on two sides of the moving plate 331, the sliding rail 12 can be embedded in the sliding grooves, the upper surface of the moving plate 331 is not higher than the upper surface of the sliding rail 11, and the cargo carrying frame 2 slides on the upper surface of the sliding rail 11, so that the sliding between the moving plate 331 and the cargo carrying frame 2 does not interfere with each other. In order to prevent the cargo rack 2 from being punched out from the two ends of the movable rack 1, the movable rack 1 further comprises stop blocks 13, the stop blocks 13 are arranged at the two ends of the sliding rail 12, and the side parts of the movable plate 331 can be abutted on the stop blocks 13, so that the movable rack 1 can be prevented from sliding beyond a preset distance.
Referring to fig. 4, the moving driving member 31 is fixed to the bottom of the moving frame 1, the pushing frame driving member 32 is a chain, the pushing frame driving member 32 is wound around the movable end of the moving driving member 31, and two ends of the moving plate 331 are fixed to the pushing frame driving member 32, so that the pushing frame driving member 32 drives the moving plate 331 to move. The movable frame 1 comprises side bars 14 and connecting bars 15, the number of the side bars 14 and the number of the connecting bars 15 are 2, the side bars 14 and the connecting bars 15 are enclosed into a rectangle so as to support the cargo carrying frame 2, the side bars 14 are arranged at two ends of the connecting bars 15, the slide rails 11 are arranged on the side bars 14, the slide rails 12 are arranged on the inner side walls of the side bars 14, the pushing frame transmission parts 32 are arranged between the 2 side bars 14, and the movable plate 331 can slide in the side bars 14.
The foregoing is a preferred embodiment of the present utility model and it should be noted that modifications and adaptations to those skilled in the art may be made without departing from the principles of the present utility model and are intended to be comprehended within the scope of the present utility model.

Claims (9)

1. The goods shelf device for stacking is used for stacking the sectional materials and is characterized by comprising a movable frame, a goods carrying shelf arranged on the movable frame and a pushing frame assembly used for pushing the goods carrying shelf, wherein a slideway is arranged on the movable frame, the goods carrying shelf and the pushing frame assembly are both arranged on the slideway, a goods frame is arranged in the goods carrying shelf, and the sectional materials can be stacked in the goods frame;
the pushing frame assembly comprises a movable driving piece, a pushing frame transmission piece and a pushing frame mechanism, wherein the movable driving piece is in transmission connection with the pushing frame transmission piece, the movable driving piece can drive the pushing frame transmission piece to reciprocate on the slideway, the pushing frame mechanism is connected with the pushing frame transmission piece, a cross rod is arranged at the bottom of the cargo carrying frame, and the pushing frame mechanism can be abutted to the inner side or the outer side of the cross rod.
2. The rack apparatus for stacking of claim 1 wherein said cargo rack comprises a bottom frame and side frames, said side frames being disposed vertically on either side of said bottom frame, said bottom frame and said side frames enclosing said cargo frame, said bottom frame being formed by a plurality of said cross bars, said side frames being formed by a plurality of said long bars.
3. The pallet assembly for stacking of claim 2 wherein the cargo carrier further comprises a lifting portion provided at both ends of the chassis, the plane formed by the lifting portion being inclined upwardly to the plane formed by the chassis, the lifting portion being provided with a tie rod horizontally disposed and located at an end of the lifting portion remote from the chassis, the pushing frame mechanism being capable of abutting either the inside or the outside of the tie rod.
4. A shelving unit for stacking according to claim 3, wherein the pushing mechanism includes a moving plate, a telescopic driving member, a telescopic rod and a stopper, the moving plate is horizontally placed under the chassis, a fixed end of the telescopic driving member is disposed on the moving plate, a movable end of the telescopic driving member is fixed to one end of the telescopic rod, the other end of the telescopic rod is connected to the stopper, and the telescopic driving member can drive the stopper to protrude from the surface of the moving plate or be located under the moving plate.
5. The rack apparatus for stacking according to claim 4, wherein the pushing mechanism further comprises a hinge block, one end of the hinge block is hinged to one end of the telescopic rod away from the telescopic driving member, the other end of the hinge block is hinged to the bottom of the moving plate, the telescopic driving member can drive the hinge block to swing at the bottom of the moving plate, one end of the stopper is hinged to the bottom of the moving plate and connected with the hinge block, when the hinge block swings, one end of the stopper can be driven to protrude from the upper surface of the moving plate or to swing below the upper surface of the moving plate, and the side portion of the stopper can be abutted to the inner side or the outer side of the cross bar or the pull rod.
6. The rack apparatus for stacking of claim 4, wherein the inner side of the movable rack is provided with a slide rail, both sides of the movable plate are provided with slide grooves, the slide rail can be embedded in the slide grooves, the upper surface of the movable plate is not higher than the upper surface of the slide rail, and the cargo rack slides on the upper surface of the slide rail.
7. The rack apparatus for stacking of claim 6 wherein the mobile rack further comprises stop blocks disposed at both ends of the slide rail, the side of the mobile plate being capable of abutting against the stop blocks.
8. The rack apparatus for stacking of claim 4 wherein said movable drive member is secured to said movable rack bottom, said pusher drive member is a chain, said pusher drive member is wrapped around the movable end of said movable drive member, and the two ends of said movable plate are secured to said pusher drive member.
9. The rack apparatus for stacking of claim 6 wherein said movable rack further comprises side bars and connecting bars, said side bars and said connecting bars being 2 in number, said side bars and said connecting bars being rectangular in shape, said side bars being disposed at both ends of said connecting bars, said slides being disposed on said side bars, said slide rails being disposed on said side bar inner side walls, said pusher gear being disposed between 2 of said side bars.
CN202321200056.2U 2023-05-17 2023-05-17 Goods shelf device for stacking Active CN220033369U (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CN202321200056.2U CN220033369U (en) 2023-05-17 2023-05-17 Goods shelf device for stacking

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CN202321200056.2U CN220033369U (en) 2023-05-17 2023-05-17 Goods shelf device for stacking

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CN220033369U true CN220033369U (en) 2023-11-17

Family

ID=88720573

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CN202321200056.2U Active CN220033369U (en) 2023-05-17 2023-05-17 Goods shelf device for stacking

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CN (1) CN220033369U (en)

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
CN215974804U (en) Three-dimensional storage rail type stacker for logistics
CN214279935U (en) Feeding device of lead frame
CN116238910A (en) Automatic loading and unloading conveyor for stone-like bricks
CN220033369U (en) Goods shelf device for stacking
CN117509110B (en) Square battery core material arranging mechanism for lithium battery Pack
CN114313730B (en) Novel stacking type goods shelf
CN216735884U (en) Movable carrying goods shelf for warehouse logistics
CN213036861U (en) Bottom tray pushing mechanism
CN113247635B (en) Charging tray feeding device and charging method
US20140096480A1 (en) Packaging device
CN211336704U (en) Wrapping bag count material collecting device
CN210213893U (en) Tray distributor and building block conveying line
CN210527127U (en) Can pile up stable goods storage box each other
CN220334109U (en) Bagged material stacking device
CN110733818A (en) Cartridge clip type material conveying device
CN215885404U (en) Bar stock stacking mechanism
CN221396124U (en) Pop can unpiler with positioning function
CN219566374U (en) Loading tool for assisting in warehousing of battery boxes and packaging system of battery boxes
CN218641662U (en) Storage goods taking device
CN217050095U (en) Stacking structure and clamping type stacker thereof
CN211919103U (en) Lifting storage mechanism, material receiving mechanism and noodle packaging machine
CN220011434U (en) Flat plate type container loading device
CN118387811B (en) High-speed stacker three-dimensional warehouse handling equipment
CN216403736U (en) Corrugated board stacking mechanism
CN216661756U (en) Automatic sand bag stacking device

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
GR01 Patent grant
GR01 Patent grant