# US 12,007,215 B2 · Configurable ammunition packaging system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,007,215 B2 - Document ID: US12007215B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/357,448 - Filed: 2023-07-24 - Published: 2023-11-30 - Granted: 2024-06-11 - Earliest claimed: 2019-01-17 - Assignees: CK Manufacturing, LLC - Applicants: CK Manufacturing, LLC - Inventors: Gordon P. Chicoine - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12007215B2 ## CPC - F42B 39/26: Packages or containers for a plurality of ammunition, e.g. cartridges (F42B39/14 - F42B39/24, F42B39/28 take precedence) - B65B 5/08: Packaging groups of articles, the articles being individually gripped or guided for transfer to the containers or receptacles - B65B 5/10: Filling containers or receptacles progressively or in stages by introducing successive articles, or layers of articles - B65B 19/34: Packaging other rod-shaped articles, e.g. sausages, macaroni, spaghetti, drinking straws, welding electrodes - B65B 35/06: Separating single articles from loose masses of articles - B65B 35/12: by gravity - B65B 35/14: by agitators or vibrators - B65B 35/26: by rotary conveyors - B65B 35/56: Orientating, i.e. changing the attitude of, articles, e.g. of non-uniform cross-section - B65B 35/58: Turning articles by positively-acting means, e.g. to present labelled portions in uppermost position - B65B 43/42: Feeding or positioning bags, boxes, or cartons in the distended, opened, or set-up state; Feeding preformed rigid containers, e.g. tins, capsules, glass tubes, glasses, to the packaging position; Locating containers or receptacles at the filling position (by means of filling-nozzles B65B39/00); Supporting containers or receptacles during the filling operation (by filling-nozzles B65B39/00) - B65B 57/14: and operating to control, or stop, the feed of articles or material to be packaged - B65B 2220/16: Packaging contents into primary and secondary packaging - F42B 39/00: Packaging or storage of ammunition or explosive charges; Safety features thereof; Cartridge belts or bags - F42B: EXPLOSIVE CHARGES, e.g. FOR BLASTING, FIREWORKS, AMMUNITION (explosive compositions C06B; fuzes F42C; blasting F42D) - B65B: MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING (bundling and pressing devices for cigars A24C1/44; devices for tensioning and securing binders adapted to be supported by the article or articles to be bound B25B25/00; applying closure members to bottles, jars or similar containers B67B1/00-B67B6/00; concurrent cleaning, filling and closing of bottles B67C7/00; emptying bottles, jars, cans, casks, barrels or similar containers B67C9/00) ## Abstract An ammunition packaging apparatus and system is reconfigurable to package a select caliber of ammunition by changing a set of components to those associated with the selected caliber of ammunition and selecting the corresponding operating procedure. An ammunition collating and packaging apparatus can be quickly reconfigured from packaging a first caliber of ammunition to packaging a second caliber of ammunition by quickly replacing a define set of components and modifying operationally timings to correspond to the selected caliber. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An ammunition packaging system, comprising: a first component set associated with a first ammunition caliber and composed of a first collator plate, a first ammunition channel, a first flipper tray, a first down chute assembly and a first ammunition tray; a second component set associated with a second ammunition caliber and composed of a second collator plate, a second ammunition channel, a second flipper tray, a second down chute assembly, and a second ammunition tray; an ammunition packaging apparatus reconfigured to package ammunition of the second ammunition caliber from the first ammunition caliber by selecting the second ammunition caliber on a user interface and replacing, at the ammunition packaging apparatus, the first component set with the second component set; and a machine, capable of executing instructions embodied as software, communicatively coupled to the ammunition packaging apparatus and to a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having a plurality of software portions, wherein one of said software portions, when executed by the machine, movably positions the second flipper tray beneath the second ammunition channel, and aligns a plurality of ammunition receptacles of the second ammunition tray with a respective plurality of down chutes of the second down chute assembly based on selecting the second ammunition caliber. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The ammunition packaging system of claim 1, further comprising the user interface, wherein the user interface is communicatively coupled to the machine and configured to accept instructions to execute software portions associated with a component set. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The ammunition packaging system of claim 2, wherein the ammunition packaging apparatus is configured to accept, for a selected ammunition caliber, a selected component set, the selected component set having a select collator plate, a select ammunition channel, a select flipper tray, a select down chute assembly and a select ammunition tray, and wherein: an ammunition collator is coupled to the select collator plate, whereby one or more rounds of ammunition of the selected ammunition caliber are delivered sequentially from the ammunition collator to a first opening of the select ammunition channel in a horizontal orientation and wherein the select ammunition channel is alternatively laterally displaced along a vertical zig-zag path, the select flipper tray, having a plurality of furrows in a horizontal orientation, is movably positioned along a track beneath a second opening of the select ammunition channel to accept in each furrow a single round of ammunition in the horizontal orientation, the select down chute assembly is positioned proximate to the track and the select flipper tray, wherein the select down chute assembly includes a plurality of down chutes in a vertical orientation, the plurality of down chutes matching the plurality of furrows, each down chute configured to accept the single round of ammunition residing in a corresponding furrow, a rotating device is coupled to the select flipper tray and configured to rotate the select flipper tray 90 degrees from the horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation responsive to the plurality of furrows being aligned with the plurality of down chutes, thereby placing each single round of ammunition residing in the corresponding furrow in the corresponding aligned down chute of the down chute assembly in a vertical orientation; and the select ammunition tray has a plurality of ammunition receptacles, wherein each ammunition receptacle is aligned with a down chute of the select down chute assembly and configured to accept the single round of ammunition residing in the down chute in the vertical orientation. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The ammunition packaging system of claim 2 wherein the first ammunition caliber is associated with a handgun round of ammunition and the second ammunition caliber is associated with a rifle round of ammunition. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The ammunition packaging system of claim 1, wherein one or more constituents of the first component set and the second component set are the same.