CA1186654A - Procedure and apparatus for separating incompletely barked pieces - Google Patents

Procedure and apparatus for separating incompletely barked pieces

Info

Publication number
CA1186654A
CA1186654A CA000399688A CA399688A CA1186654A CA 1186654 A CA1186654 A CA 1186654A CA 000399688 A CA000399688 A CA 000399688A CA 399688 A CA399688 A CA 399688A CA 1186654 A CA1186654 A CA 1186654A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
timber
pieces
separating
barked
infra
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.)
Expired
Application number
CA000399688A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Vesa Tamminen
Erkki Aro
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.)
Kone Corp
Original Assignee
Kone Corp
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 Kone Corp filed Critical Kone Corp
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1186654A publication Critical patent/CA1186654A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B07SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
    • B07CPOSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
    • B07C5/00Sorting according to a characteristic or feature of the articles or material being sorted, e.g. by control effected by devices which detect or measure such characteristic or feature; Sorting by manually actuated devices, e.g. switches
    • B07C5/34Sorting according to other particular properties
    • B07C5/342Sorting according to other particular properties according to optical properties, e.g. colour
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B07SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
    • B07CPOSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
    • B07C5/00Sorting according to a characteristic or feature of the articles or material being sorted, e.g. by control effected by devices which detect or measure such characteristic or feature; Sorting by manually actuated devices, e.g. switches
    • B07C5/04Sorting according to size
    • B07C5/12Sorting according to size characterised by the application to particular articles, not otherwise provided for
    • B07C5/14Sorting timber or logs, e.g. tree trunks, beams, planks or the like

Landscapes

  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Biodiversity & Conservation Biology (AREA)
  • Forests & Forestry (AREA)
  • Investigating Or Analysing Materials By Optical Means (AREA)
  • Investigating Materials By The Use Of Optical Means Adapted For Particular Applications (AREA)
  • Length Measuring Devices By Optical Means (AREA)
  • Sorting Of Articles (AREA)

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE:
Procedure and apparatus for separating incompletely barked timber in a timber sorting process.
The infra-red radiation from the pieces of timber is measured and on the basis of the result of measurement obtained, the incompletely barked pieces of timber are separated from the process.

Description

The invention concerns a procedure for separating incompletely barked timber in a timber sorting process.
For grinder treatment, the pieces of timber must be well barked. But it happens time and again that when emerging from the barking apparatus a piece of timber is not completely barked, and such pieces of timber must be eliminated from the process. Separation by machine means is cumbersome because determining and measuring the bark content of pieces of timber from a timber mass stream is exceedingly difficult. Causes of which this is a result include that the pieces of timber are most often dls-arranged on the conveyor. Moreover, the color of the pieces of timber and also the color of the bark is variable. Furthermore, owing to capacity requirements, the speed of the pieces of timber is high on the conveyor.
All these circumstances impede the mechanical separation of timber according to its bark content, and the separation has therefore usually been done manually.
This separation is slow work and involves danger to the workers, and owing to human factors it may happen now and then that incompletely barked pieces of timber pass through to the grinding shop, and such is obviously detrimental to the process.
The object of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks mentioned and to provide a reliable and economical procedure for separating incompletely barked timber. Accordingly, the invention it broadly claimed herein as a procedure for separating incompletely barked pieces of timber in a timber sorting process, comprising:
conveying the pieces of timber disposed at right angles to their direction of travel past an infer-red radiation sensing step;

I I
I

measuring the infrared radiation of the pieces of timber and eased on the radiation measurement obtained separating the incompletely basked pieces of timber from the process.
The advantage of the procedure is its high capacity and good reliability, Likewise the Fisk factors which would imply a threat to the workers have been successfully eliminated. It is an additional advantage that the procedure is appropriate for detecting any kind of undesirable material in the process, because different materials have different infrared responses and thereby they can be easily differentiated According to one advantageous embodiment of the invention, the infrared radiation emitted by the pieces of timber is measured while being conveyed below an infer-red camera.
The advantage here is that the color of the objects that are being measured does not affect the result of the measurement, and in that case the material pro-parties alone will decide the result of measurement. If there is bark left on the piece of timber, the result of the measurement is different from that which would be obtained if the bark had been removed. Likewise it is even possible to differentiate between different wood qualities.
According to another preferred embodiment, the conveyed pieces of timber are set in rotary motion about their longitudinal axis for the duration of the radiation measurement step. The advantage here now is that reliable measured data for handling are obtained because the timber can be measured from all sides.
In yet another advantageous embodiment, the measured radiation information is conducted to a data processing unit for supplying a control signal to a sorting means, and on the basis of said control signal
- 2 -.,~, all pieces of timber in a paddle intexv~l where the bark content of any one piece of timber exceeds a pro-determined limit are separated from toe process. were, the advantage is that the information can be very rapidly and reliably analyzed.
Still according to another preferred embodiment, the pieces of timber are subjected to thermora~iation before measuring the infrared radiation. In this way, the result of the measurement can be even further improved.
The invention is also broadly claimed herein as an apparatus for detecting and separating incompletely barked pieces of timber, said apparatus comprising:
a feed conveyor connected to a transversal positioner having a plurality of spaced apart paddles, wherein the pieces of timber travel disposed trays-vernally with reference to their direction of travel, with at least one piece of timber being in each paddle interval between adjacent paddles an infer red camera provided in conjunction with the transversal positioner, wherein said camera photo-graphs the pieces of timber; and a data processing unit which processes the photographic information and gives a control signal to a sorting means, which directs the pieces of timber to at least two removal conveyors, one conveyor being for pieces of timber accepted to the process and the other conveyor for rejected pieces of timber.
In a preferred embodiment, this apparatus has disposed therein an infrared radiator which warms up the pieces of timber to be measured prior to photography by the camera.
In yet another preferred embodiment, the transversal positioner comprises a mechanism which imparts to the pieces of timber passing over a rotary j r I;

motion about toe longitudinal axis of the pieces of timber said mechanism bring so constructed that the piece of timber turns at least half a revolution during the measurement.
Yet according to a further preferred embodiment, the mechanism producing the rotary movement of the pieces of timber is a stationary toothed plate which has been disposed in the transporting plane longitudinally to the direction of travel of the pieces ox tither.
The advantage of the apparatus is its reliability, because few mowing parts are required. A
further advantage is good usability, that is, the maintenance requirements are minimal and the apparatus is easy to operate. Its other advantages have already been described in the part concerning the procedure.
A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the appended drawings wherein Fig. 1 presents the whole apparatus, viewed from above, Fig. 2 shows the transversal positioner in elevation Al view, and simplified; and Fig 3 shows a perspective view of the upper part of the transversal positioner on a larger scale.
The barked timber traveling in random arrangement on the feed conveyor 1 is introduced to the initial end of the transversal positioner 2, from where onward the pieces of timber are organized to constitute a transversal stream, with reference to the feed conveyor 1. On the transversal positioner 2, the pieces of timber travel in such manner that one or several pieces of timber reside in one paddle interval formed by the paddles 5, transversally disposed with reference to their direction of travel. In the conveying plane 6 of - 35 the transversal positioner 2 and longitudinally with reference to the direction of twill of the pieces of timber, have been mounted two stationary toothed plates 7, which have the task to rotate the pieces of timber passing over through at least half a revolution during the period which the piece of timber is it the photography area.
The teeth of the toothed plate 7 project a small distance above the transpoxtin~ plane 6, so that they might engage the piece of timber passing over so as to cause its rotary motion. If the teeth are placed too highly, the movement of the piece of timber becomes hard to control.
Since the teeth of plate 7 are above the transporting plane, openings 8 have been provided in the paddles 5 for passing over the toothed plates 7.
Above the transporting plane 6 and in contiguity with the toothed plates 7, there is an infrared camera 9 which photographs the infrared radiation emitted by the pieces of timber passing underneath. To begin with, one side of the piece of timber is photographed, and as the piece turns around, the other side is photographed. In this way the surface of the entire piece of timber can be photographed. By the use of camera 9 such an area is monitored in which the pieces of timber in their entirety find room in their longitudinal direction and which area has a length at least enough to allow the piece of timber to describe half a rotation about its longitudinal axis within this area. The camera 9 continuously photographs the area, and the result of measurement can be analyzed independent of whether the piece of timber was or was not rotating during photographing. Since different substances have different infrared responses, this procedure enables those spots to be made visible where there has remained bark after treatment in the barking apparatus.
The information from the photography, that is the bark content measurement data, is conducted from the camera 9 to a microcomputer, which analyzes the information I
3 Do Jo and thereafter sends out steering data to the sorting means lo located after the transversal positioner 2. If any one piece of timber in a paddle interval has a bark content higher than a predetermined limit value, the microcomputer will give to the sorting jeans lo the command to direct all pieces ox timber from the paddle interval in question to the reject conveyor I If on the other hand the pieces of timber are acceptable as regards their bark content, they will travel to the lo removal conveyor 3 for further treatment. The infrared camera 9 is used to photograph the long-wave infrared radiation emitted by the pieces of timber, whereby any errors of measurement which might be caused by the color of the pieces of timber are avoided, It is then also possible, if required, to carry out separation from each other of different timber qualities because the infrared response is also differellt for different wood species.
The computer, not depicted in the figures, analyzes the photographic information e.g. in that it reduces the incoming information, deleting therefrom all extra information, and from the residual information calculates the bark content value of the timber, The analysis step performed by the computer represents commonly known technique and is therefore not described in any detail here. The result of measurement may be improved by heating the pieces of timber before they are photographed. In the apparatus presented as an example, infrared radiators if have been placed immediately before the camera 9 both above and under the timber stream. The heating may of course take place earlier as well, in which case the pieces of timber are allowed to cool somewhat before photography.
It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the invention is not exclusively confined to the example presented in the foregoing and may vary within ,.,, ,, I,, various embodiments, which is for instance purity in the claims stated below. For instance, it is not necessary to restrict the procedure merely to measurement of the bark content of pieces of timber: it is possible by the procedure of the invention to differentiate between objects with different infrared responses and of any kind whatsoever. The invention may even be applied towards separating solid bodies from a bulk goods or liquid stream.

~,~

Claims (14)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A procedure for separating incompletely barked pieces of timber in a timber sorting process, comprising:
conveying the pieces of timber disposed at right angles to their direction of travel past an infra-red radiation sensing step;
measuring the infra-red radiation of the pieces of timber and based on the radiation measurement obtained separating the incompletely-barked pieces of timber from the process.
2. A timber separating procedure according to claim 1, wherein the infra-red radiation emitted by the pieces of timber is measured while being conveyed below an infra-red camera.
3. A timber separating procedure according to claim 1, wherein the conveyed pieces of timber are set in rotary motion about their longitudinal axis for the duration of the radiation measurement step.
4. A timber separating procedure according to claim 1, wherein the measured radiation information is conducted to a data processing unit for supplying a control signal to a sorting means, and on the basis of said control signal all pieces of timber in a paddle interval where the bark content of any one piece of timber exceeds a predetermined limit are separated from the process.
5. A timber separating procedure according to claim 1, wherein the pieces of timber are subjected to thermal radiation before measuring the infra-red radiation.
6. A timber separating procedure according to claim 1, wherein different wood species are separated from the process.
7. A procedure for separating incompletely barked pieces of timber in a timber sorting process, com-prising:
(a) conveying the pieces of timber disposed transversely to their direction of travel;
(b) subjecting said pieces of timber to thermal radiation energy while rotating the pieces about their longitudinal axis;
c) measuring infra-red radiation of the pieces of timber; and (d) separating from the process the incompletely barked pieces of timber based on the radiation measurement of the timber pieces,
8. An apparatus for detecting and separating incompletely barked pieces of timber, said apparatus com-prising:
a feed conveyor connected to a transversal positioner having a plurality of spaced apart paddles, wherein the pieces of timber travel disposed transversally with reference to their direction of travel, with at least one piece of timber being in each paddle interval between adjacent paddles;
an infra-red camera provided in conjunction with the transversal positioner, wherein said camera photo-graphs the pieces of timber; and a data processing unit which processes the photographic information and gives a control signal to a sorting means, which directs the pieces of timber to at least two removal conveyors, one conveyor being for pieces of timber accepted to the process and the other conveyor for rejected pieces of timber.
9. An apparatus for separating incompletely barked timber according to claim 8, wherein said apparatus has disposed therein an infra-red radiator, which warms up the pieces of timber to be measured prior to photography by said camera.
10. An apparatus for separating incomplately barked timber according to claim 8, wherein said transversal positioner causes logs passing thereover to execute a rotary motion, said transversal positioner being so constructed that the piece of timber turns at least half a revolution during the measurement.
11. An apparatus for separating incompletely barked timber according to claim 10, wherein said transversal positioner comprises a stationary toothed plate which has been disposed in the transporting plane longitudinally to the direction of travel of the pieces of timber.
12. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said data processing unit is a microcomputer,
13. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said infra-red radiation is located both above and below the timber.
14. An apparatus for detecting and separating incompletely barked pieces of timber, said apparatus comprising:
(a) a feed conveyor connected to a transversal positioner, said positioner having a plurality of spaced-apart paddles which project upwardly to provide a paddle interval between adjacent paddles, whereby pieces of timber travel transversely with reference to the direction of travel of the positioner, so that at least one piece of timber is conveyed in each said paddle interval;
(b) an infra-red camera provided above the transversal positioner for photographing the pieces of timber;
(c) a data processing unit for processing the photographic information from said camera which unit provides a control signal to a sorting means; and (d) a sorting means which directs the pieces of timber to one of two removal conveyors, one conveyor being for accepted pieces of timber and the other conveyor for rejected pieces of timber.
CA000399688A 1981-03-30 1982-03-29 Procedure and apparatus for separating incompletely barked pieces Expired CA1186654A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FI810970 1981-03-30
FI810970A FI64301C (en) 1981-03-30 1981-03-30 PROCEDURE FOR THE ADJUSTMENT OF AVAILABLE AVAILABILITY

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1186654A true CA1186654A (en) 1985-05-07

Family

ID=8514267

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA000399688A Expired CA1186654A (en) 1981-03-30 1982-03-29 Procedure and apparatus for separating incompletely barked pieces

Country Status (6)

Country Link
BR (1) BR8201769A (en)
CA (1) CA1186654A (en)
DE (1) DE3211343A1 (en)
FI (1) FI64301C (en)
FR (1) FR2509199B1 (en)
SE (1) SE8202003L (en)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5544757A (en) * 1991-02-08 1996-08-13 Andritz-Patentverwaltungs-Gesellschaft M.B.H. Method and device for seperating pieces of wood
GB2528979A (en) * 2014-08-08 2016-02-10 Kilkenny Mechanical Handling Systems Ltd A method and system for recycling wood
US9688482B2 (en) 2015-03-17 2017-06-27 Illinois Tool Works Inc. Apparatus for buffering the flow of articles

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DK155274C (en) * 1986-05-30 1989-07-31 Stormax Int As DEVICE FOR CONTROL OF WOODEN TOPICS
AT389666B (en) * 1987-01-19 1990-01-10 Schilcher Ges M B H Device for the input of square-cutting and assessment commands
SE466420B (en) * 1989-11-14 1992-02-10 Svenska Traeforskningsinst PROCEDURE AND DEVICE FOR THE DETECTION OF BARK AND DETERMINATION OF BARKING RATE BY WOOD OR TIP
DE10312695B4 (en) * 2003-03-21 2007-04-12 Franz-Josef Meurer Device and method for conveying and storing conveyed goods
WO2018112703A1 (en) * 2016-12-19 2018-06-28 陈强 Device of branching defective products and non-defective products

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2426751A (en) * 1945-06-04 1947-09-02 Samuel C Hurley Jr Device for rotating rounded objects
US4236640A (en) * 1978-12-21 1980-12-02 The Superior Oil Company Separation of nahcolite from oil shale by infrared sorting
AU535962B2 (en) * 1979-07-24 1984-04-12 Csr Limited Infraed sorting

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5544757A (en) * 1991-02-08 1996-08-13 Andritz-Patentverwaltungs-Gesellschaft M.B.H. Method and device for seperating pieces of wood
GB2528979A (en) * 2014-08-08 2016-02-10 Kilkenny Mechanical Handling Systems Ltd A method and system for recycling wood
US9688482B2 (en) 2015-03-17 2017-06-27 Illinois Tool Works Inc. Apparatus for buffering the flow of articles
US10040639B2 (en) 2015-03-17 2018-08-07 Illinois Tool Works Inc. Apparatus for buffering the flow of articles

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
FI810970L (en) 1982-10-01
FR2509199B1 (en) 1986-02-07
FR2509199A1 (en) 1983-01-14
FI64301C (en) 1983-11-10
BR8201769A (en) 1983-03-01
FI64301B (en) 1983-07-29
DE3211343A1 (en) 1982-10-07
SE8202003L (en) 1982-10-01

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