CA1206918A

CA1206918A - Apparatus for sorting and collecting pieces of material, in particular sawn timber

Info

Publication number: CA1206918A
Application number: CA000449063A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Friedrich K. Rumplmayr
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1983-03-18
Filing date: 1984-03-07
Publication date: 1986-07-02
Also published as: DE3465709D1; EP0129532A1; EP0129532B1; FI840992A; ATA96183A; PL246666A1; FI840992A0; YU46584A; CS189684A2; CS241541B2; FI74223C; NO841014L; PL138669B1; FI74223B; AT376588B; DD215944A5

Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure Apparatus for sorting and collecting pieces of material, particularly sawn timber, comprises a plurality of collecting chambers, which are arranged in a row and each of which is provided with an in-clined chute and with storing means which are operable in dependence on the quantity of said pieces contained in the collecting chamber. A substantially horizontal sorting conveyor extends above the collecting chambers and discharges sorted pieces of material into the col-lecting chambers. A substantially horizontal taking conveyor for carrying off the batches of sorted and collected pieces of material extends below the collect-ing chambers. In order to permit a fast and functional-ly reliable sorting of pieces of material in any desired number of batches, the collecting chambers are channel-like and an antechamber is disposed between the sorting conveyor and each collecting chamber and opens into the latter. The chute associated with each collecting chamber has an angle of inclination that is smaller than the angle of repose of aggregates formed by the pieces of material. The storing means associated with each collecting chamber comprise a collecting conveyor, which extends along the chute and collects the pieces of material in a layer of substantially uniform thickness.

Description

lZ06918 This invention relates to apparl-t1ls fo:r sorti.ng and co1lecting pi.eces of material~ particularly sawn timber, compli.sing a substanti.ally ilorizontal upper sorting conve~or, a plurall-ty o collecting chambers, which are a.rranged i:l a row e~tending below and along said sor-ting con-~eyor and serve -to collect the pieces of ma-terial which have been sorted and dis-charged b~ the sorting conveyor, and an also sub-slantially horizontal taking conveyor, which extends below -the collecting chambers~ each of which is provid-ed with an inclined chute and with storing means~
which are operable in dependence on the quar.tity of said pieces contained in said chamberO
In such sorting and collecting apparatus the sawn -timber coming, e.gO~ from a saw, or pieces of another material whicn becomes a~ailable i.n a more or less continual manner, is deli-vered to -the sorting conveyor afte:r the material has been singled and the pieces have been measuredO By the sor-ting conveyor, each piece of material is dropped into -the collecting chamber which i.s associ.ated wit;h the sort to which the piece be].ongs~ The sorted pieces are stored i.Q each collecting chamber until the la-tter con-tains said pieces in a desired quanti.ty~ which is req~i.red to form a pack or stack of piecesO ~or ~his purpose the stora~e capacity of each col.lecting chamber is in-creased by the associated s-toring means in dependence on the quanti~y of pieces of ~a~terlal contained i.n the chamber until the latter cGntains the desi:red quantity of pieces, whereafter the storing means cause the entire contents of the chamber to be ~Z069~8 discharged onto the taking conveyor, which then carries each sorted batch via a singling station to the pack-forming or stacking station.
Known collecting chambers are vertieal and similar to a shaft or~ in accordan~e with UOS. Pa-tent 3,155 245, may be provided with inclined chutes and with vertieally adjustable bottom plates, which are adapted to be lowered to extend close to -the taking conveyor. In such apparatus -the pieces of material dis-charged by the sorting conveyor fall freely onto slidingsurfaces of th~ chutes, which must be so steep that the pieees of material will reliably slide down as far as to the bottom plate under all circumstances~ As a result, relatively unordered heaps of pieces of material are formed in each collecting chamber along the chute and that disorder is increased further as the heaps pass through the chambers a~d are discharged onto the taking eonveyor by means of separate transfer eonveyorsO ~hat disorder resul-ts in irregularities and disturbanees in the operation in which the heaps of sorted pieees are to be ordered before -they are stacked or packed. Another disadvant~lge resides in that numerous pieces, par-tieularly pieces which are relatively small in cross-section, -tend to break as they fall into a colleeting ehamber or are delivered onto the taking eonveyor or as the pieees in the unordered heaps are singled; this tendeney is partieularly pronounced in the sorting of dried timber and results in a high percentage of rejects aLld eonstitutes another souree of troubleO A further disadvantage of the known shaft-like eolleeting eham~ers resides in that the number of ~2069~8 pieces per sorted batch cannot be limited to a desired number unless the delivery to a given chamber is in-terrupted during the discharge from said chamber. For this reason the sorting operation must be in-terrupted for the duration of the emptying of a chamber~ or those pieces whi~h are intended for a chamber that is being emptied must be routed into a reserve chamberO
A danger of trouble aLld of damage to the pieces of material is also involved in the operation in which the collec-ting chambers are emptiedO ~his is due to -the fact that the pieces of material piled up in a given chamber wi-th vertical cross~sections must be rearranged to assume a horizontal cross-section, as they are depos:ited on the -taking conveyor, regardless of whether said operation is effected by an expensive separate transfer conveyor or by a simple hinged plate. That rearrangement involves large movements of the piecds of material in the heap as well as a risk of a jamming at the outlet of the chamber. In order to reduce the loads to be applied -to the indi-vidual pieces of the sor-ted batches and to avoid trouble as far as possible, the sorting and emptying operations can be carried out only at a rather low conveying speed.
Multi-storied sorting apparatus are also known, in which an inclined sorting conveyor delivers the pieces of material in-to superimposed, approximately horizontal collecting chambers, in which respective storey conveyors are provided for ~orwarding the sorted 3C pieces of material in a controlled manner in dependence on the quan-tit~ o pieces contained in -the ch~mberO As 12~)69~8 a result~ the pieces o~ mat~rial are collected in the form of an ordercd l.ayerO When the desired quant,it~
oL material has bee~n collected in a given layer, -then the latter mu.s-t be removed from the collecting cham~er b~ means of a~l unloading conve~or~ which is mounted on a pivoted bridge, by means of which it can be raised or lowered to the outlet opening of the associa-ted chamber ~hen it is to be empti.edO If the space available is not suf~icient to s.Gco:r~modate such ~ivoted bridge, then the unloading conveyor may consist of a -trans.fer conveyor, w~ich cooperates with the upwardly inclined singllng conveyor preced.lng -the stacking or p/~c~
forming st~tion and which ~ mounted to be adjustable along the singling conve~or a~ld directly connec,is -the outlet opening of -the chamber -to be emp-tied to the singling conveyor~ Because the collecting chambers of said m~]ti~storied sorting plants are superimposed, the free cross-sections througl w i~h the several chambers can be charged are relativel~ small so that ~0 the hinged deflecting pla-tes associa.ted with respective collecting chamber~ can be opened onl~ fo:r relati.vely short t-l.mes if the sorting conve~7or is movi.ng a-t re-lativel~ igh speed. As a res-ul-t~ -the sor-ti.ng rate is ratber restricted a~d the so:rting opera-t;ion is liabl.e to be deranged.~ Besides, the inerti~ forces whi.ch are exerted are lar~e so that even the very sligh-t ir.regu-larities of the control or very small obstructio.ns wi].l result in great daInage to the entire apparatus~ Ees:ides, the small height of each l~yer re~uires each collecting 0 chamber to be very long if it i5 -to accommodate pieces OI' 12069J~

mate~ l in the desi:red nu~nberO lhe ove-i:all ~engi,h of the Qlant is increased.i'u,r-Gher because the pi.eces oi: mat,e-ricl.'L are sup~lied to the sox-tin~. chambers b~y~
th~ ,50r ~lng conve-~or ln -the same di.~ction ir -whi ch the pieces are removed from the chambers b~ -the lmload-ing conve-~or. ~ing to the superim-~osed col]ectin~
chambers the apparat,u~ ha.s 1 ver~y large cveral.l h~^,igh-t so that t,he n-(lmber o sorts in+o which the pieces can be so~tad is greatly restricted. 5'he lar~er the overal]
height, i.e~, the larger the numbe~ of superimposed collecting chambers, th.e higher wi'l be the expenditure for the means for emptying the chambers becuuse the inclination of the unloading conve~or is limi.ted ? alld tha higher will be suscep-tibility to trouble and -the numbsr of damaged pieces because -they are dropped from the large hei.ght. On the other hand, the sor-'.ing rate is slso rela.-tively low because i-t depends too highl~ on the operation by which the several chambers ar~ emp-tied; moreover, the number of sorts as well as the quantit~7 of each sorted. batch muC-t remain v~i-tll:in close l:imits a~ld th~ appara-tus can be uti.lized only to a low degree, which depends on the most highl-~ loaded co]lec-ting chamberO
For this reason it is an object of -the inventlon to eliminate these disadv~ntages and to provide apparatus which is of the kind described first hereinbefore and involves a relatively low structural expenditure and af~ords in combinati.on all advantage3 o~ -the known sGrting apparatus whereas the disadvantages ~0 of the latter are avoided and whlch p~rmits a fai-t and 12069~8 flmctionally reliable sor-ting of pieces o.~ m~teri.al ;nto an~ desired nu~e-r of sorts~
~ his object is accomplished i.n accord-ance wi-tb. the invention in that the collec-ting chambers are chanellike, an antechamber is disposed between the sorting conveyor and each collect.,ing chamber and ope.ns into the lat-ter, each chute has an angle of i-nclination ~ha-t ïs smal]ex th~n the ~ngle of repose o,. an aggrega-te of said pieces of material, and the storing mean~ asso-ciated with each collecting chamber comprise a collect-ing co.nveyor, on whic~ the material received by the col-lecting chamber is piled up in a ].ayer of an approximate-ly uniform thicknessO As the piece,s di.scharKed from the sorti.ng conveyor pass through a given antechamber, said pieces are gi.ven a desired orientation and as the~
~nter -the succeeding collecting chamber -they are piled up thereln to form an ordered layer, which increases and advances in the associa-ted collecting chamber as the filling of the la-tter proceeds. ~he collecting con-veyor ensures that the layer will be conveyed downwardlyin a controlled manner and that the individual pieces in the layer will no-t change their positions relative to each other during that conveyance so -that the entire sorted batch will be in an ordered condition also when the desired ~uantity of pieces has been collected and even in that case the weight of ~e individual pieces which have been collected will no-t cause a high pres-sure to be applied to said pieces at the lower end of each collecting chamberO ~he layer of collected pieces can then be transferred onto the taking conveyor wi-th-out difficulty and without a large change in directionO
~6~

~z0691~

As a result, each chamber can be emptied in a controlled.
manner~ ~he pieces of material can be collected and the col]ecting chambers can be emptied ~ithout a risk of trouble and in a quick manner and -the time for whieh the sorting operation must be interrupted during the emptying of the collecting chamber is reducedO Because the pieces of material are not dropped in a free fall during their discharge from the sorting conve~Jor or during the emptying OI the eollecting chamber and be-cause an ordered sorted batch is deli.vered to the commonsingling station, any risk of a breakage of the pieces of material during the sorting operation is virtually eliminatedO Nevertheless, the eollec-tl.ng cha~nber can be arrarlged in a row i.n any desired n~lber and may have any desired length and, if d.esired, additional collec-t-ing chambers can be subsecluently added so -that there is no restriction regarding tne number of sorts and the quantity of material in each sorted batcrl~ ~he pieces of material are hand:Led in a very gentle mannex ~0 and the apparatus ls highly reliable in u..nction.0 Be~
sides, pleees of material having various dimensions can be sorted at very hi..gh rates wi-t.tl.in very small space.
If the chutes are provided with rollers, and if -the collecting conveyors consis-t of displaceable bottom plates, which a-t the ou-tlet end of the respec-tive chhmber are adapted to be swung d~wn -tG-~JRrd the -!;aking conveyor, then the individual pieces of ma-terial can be collected in R layer of uniform, small -thickness in apparatus involving onl~ a low st~-uctural 0 exrenditure becallle this can be aecomplished ln thc;t ~206918 th~ bot1-c~ pl~lte i~ moved do-wnward.ly in depe~d.ence on t;he quan1ity of pieces of material cont.iined in the chamb_rO In ~lhat ca_e the layel fo-r~ed by the sor-~e~
pie es moves on the r~.lers and bear. on the bottom plate and when -the chambel is to be emp-tled thC bo~ttom plate ici s~ mg down so tha~t s.lid layer is contlnuousl-g -transferred onto the -tal;in~ conv*yo O
W1ithi.n trlC scope O:r the invention~ -the collecting conveyor may consist of an endless conve~or, which is preferably provided with flights, and said collec-ti~g conveyor may be succeeded at -the outle-t ~d OI' the col.lecting chamber by a hinged bot-tom plate~
which is adapted to be swung down onto -the taking con-veyor. In that case the layer formed by tne pieces of material can be aligned, collected and trans-ferred in a particularly exact and. troublefree manner because the layer will be forcibly moved downardly and the removal of the la-yer from the collecting chamber will no-t be af-fectcd by conditions of rolling and iric~ional contactO
In that case~ the hinged bottom pla-te~ which is adapted to be swung down, ensures that the layer will be -trans-ferred by a sliding movemen-t onto the taking conveyor and that the sorted batch will not be dropped in a manner by which its order may be disturbedD
Within the scope of the invention, each antechamber constitutes at its junction to the associated collecting chamber a step, which is directed toward the chute and cooperates with a hinged retaining plateO By means of said hinged retaining pla-te the 0 pieces discharged from the sorting conveyor can be ~0~9~

retained a-t the beginning of the filling of a given an-techamber until the space defined by the step has been filled so -that it is ensured tha-t a layer of material will be formed in a heigh-t which is determined by the height of the step. As a result, said hinged re-ta,ining plat~s ensure tha-t the pieces will be ordered even a-t the beginning of -the layer and that the chamber can be emptied without a need for an interruption of the sorting operation. When pieces in he desired quan-tity have been stored in a given collecting chamber andthe layer formed in said chamber has reached -the de-sired size, the collecting conveyor may be moved down-wardly for a certa.in dis-tance so -that -the associ~ted hinged retaining plate can be closed and the following pieces will now be retained in the antec'namber while the collecting chamber can be emptied wlthou-t a dis-turbanceO The discharge of pieces ~m the sortirlg con-veyor can be continued during said operationO As soon as the sor-ted batch has been delivered onto the t~king conveyor, the hinged :retaining plate is opened so -that the next layer of material in the a,~sociated collec-ting chamber can be formed in an ordered mannerO As the an-te~
chamber cons-ti-tutes a waiting room, for sorted pieces, the emptying of a given collecting chamber does not reauire an interruption of -the sorting operation or a routing of sorting pieces into reserve chambersO ~his -~act permi-ts a particul;arly ef-,icient sorting operationO
It will also be favorable to provid.e for each collec-ting chamber a sep~ra-tor, which se,ves to 0 support pieces of material and bridges -the collecting _9_ lZ069~8 conveyor ad.jacent to the step when the associ.~ted hinged retaining plate is closed. 0-~i.ng to the pro-vision of said s~p~orts, t;he collectin-~ con~Teyor ma.~T
~.ten~ be~onl -the 'ninged re~ainillg plates b~cause during the emptying of a given collec-t;ing ehamber the associated separator -~-i]l cover the collecting ccnveyor and adjacent to -the hinged retaining plate -wi.ll prevent a premature cont~1ct bet~een pieces of material and the eollecting eonveyor. As -the 'ninged retaining plate i.s openecl, the sup~,ort is moved ou-t of i~s supporting positi.on and the collecting cor.ve~Jor ean bec,ome effect-ive in th~ desired mannerO
An illustrative embodimen-t of the in-ven~ion is strictly diagrammatieally shown on the clraw-ing.
Each pieee 1 of sawn tlmber which is to be sorted is charged in a transverse orien-tat,ion onto a horizontal sorting conveyor 2, which extends above a row of eollec,ting chambers 3 and in dependence on sort-ing criteria .~or whieh each pieee 1 has been checkedin a measuring station, not shown, discharge.c, each pieee of -timber lnto the appropriat;e one of a plurality of eollecting chambers 30 Said collecting chambers are channellike and are downwardly inclined at such a small angle that the angle of inclinatlon of their chutes 4 is smaller than the angle of .repose of a heap of pieces 1 of timberO An antechamber 5 is disposed between each eollecting ehamber 3 and the sorting conve-~or 2 and has a step which adjoins the associated collecting ehamber, from which the antechamber can ~e sepa:rated by a hinged retaining pla-t;e 60 Each colleet;ing chambe~

12C~6918 3 oontains an endl~ss conveyor 7, whicrl ex-~ends down-wardly in the chamber and is provided with flights 8~
Each collecting chamber 3 i~ closed at i-ts outlet end by ~ hinged bottom plate 9, whlGh is adapted to be swung open ln an ou-tward directionO A taking conve~or 10 is provide~d below the collecting chambers 3 adjacent to the hinged bottom plates 9. ~he sorted batches col-lected in the chambers 3 are carri.ed off by the taking conveyor 10 to means for singling, stacking or packing said batches~
Each piece 1 whi.ch has been discharged from the sorting conveyor 2 move6 through an an-techamber 5 and a~-ter having been oriented by the s-tep and the hinged retaining plate 6 enters the associated collect-ing chamber 3O
~ he pieces 1 which have entered a given collecting chamber 3 are built up therein in a control-led manner to form a fairly uniform layer 1' having approximately the same height as the s-tepO ~he order of the pieces in the resulting layer 1' will not be changed on the endless conveyor 7. ~he building up of -the layer 1' is completed when pieces in a desired quantity have been collected. ~hat completed layer 1' is then moved downwardly by the endless conveyorO When the hinged retaining plate 6 has been closed in the space which has been left by the layer 1', additional pieces 1 to be collected in the same collecting chamber 3 will tem~orarily be collected in the antechamber 5O
~hat temporary collection will not influence the empty-ing of the collecting chamber 3O ~o empty the collect-ing chamber 3~ the hinged bottom plate 9 is swung down onto the taking conveyor 10 to form a bridge, over lZ06918 which the layer 1' is discharged onto the taking con-veyor whereas the order of the pleces in said layer will ~ot be disturbed~ When the collecting chamber 3 has been emptied, the associated hinged bottom plate 9 is closed and the associated hinged retaining plate 6 is opened so that -the formation of a new layer can beginO To ensure that the closed retaining plate 6 and the moving endless conveyor 7 will not result in a dis-turbance adjacent to the antechc~mber during the emptying operation9 a separator 11~ which is adapted to be lifted and lowered, is provided adjacent to each antechamber 5u When the associated hinged retaining plate 6 is closed~
said separator 11 covers the endless conveyor 7 in order to ensure that pieces 1 whi.ch are retained in the antechamber 5 cannot contact the endless conveyor 7~
~ he apparatus in accordance with the i.nvention is distinguished by a fast, efficient, functio-nally rel.iable operation and by a gentle handling of the material. ~he sorting operation need not be inter-rupted for an emptying of` a collecting ch~mbe* andeach sorted bat~es~ regardless o~ the number and sizes of such batches, can be trarlsferred to the taking con-veyor in an ordered state and in a controlled manner~

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In apparatus for sorting and collecting pieces of material belonging to different sorts, comprising means defining a plurality of collecting chambers, each of which is associated with one of said sorts and which are arranged in a row and are provided each with an inclined chute and with storing means adapted to be operated in dependence on the quantity of said pieces contained in said collecting chamber, a sorting conveyor extending substantially horizontally above said collecting chambers along said row and operable to convey said pieces of material and to discharge pieces of each of said sorts into the associat-ed collecting chamber, and a taking conveyor, which extends generally horizontally below said collecting chambers along said row and is adapted to receive from each of said collect-ing chambers the pieces collected therein when a prede-termined quantity of said pieces has been collected in said collecting chamber.
the improvement residing in that each of said storing means comprise a collecting conveyor, which is adapted to collect said pieces of material on said chute in the form of a layer having a generally uniform thickness, each of said collecting chambers comprises a channel forming said chute, which has an angle of inclination that is smaller than the angle of repose of said pieces of material in said layer, and means defining a plurality of antecham-bers are provided, each of which is disposed between said sorting conveyor and one of said collecting cham-bers and opens into the latter and is adapted to receive from said sorting conveyor the pieces of the sort associated with said collecting chamber and to deliver said pieces to said collecting chamber.

2. The improvement set forth in claim 1 as applied to apparatus for sorting and collecting sawn timber.

3. The improvement set forth in claim 1, wherein each of said storing means comprise a hinged plate, which is disposed near the lower end of said collecting conveyor and pivotally movable between an upper position, in which said hinged plate is adapted to retain said pieces of material on said collecting conveyor, and a lower position, in which said hinged plates extends downwardly onto said taking conveyor and permits said layer to be discharged from said collecting conveyor onto said taking conveyor.

4. The improvement set forth in claim 3, wherein each of said collecting conveyors comprises an endless conveyor.

5. The improvement set forth in claim 4, wherein each of said endless conveyors is provided with a plurality of flights.

6. The improvement set forth in claim 1, wherein said means defining each of said ante-chambers comprise a step extending downwardly toward the associated collecting chamber and a plurality of hinged retaining plates are provided, each of which is associated with one of said antechambers and movable between closed and open positions and adapted. to temporarily retain pieces of material in said antechamber in cooperation with said step when said retaining plate is in said closed position and to permit pieces of material to pass from said ante-chamber to said collecting chamber when said retaining plate is in said open position.

7. The improvement set forth in claim 6, wherein each of said collecting conveyors extends close to the associated antechamber and a plurality of separators are provided, each of which is associated with one of said collecting chambers and operatively connected to the associated retaining plates and arranged to bridge said collecting conveyor so as to prevent a contact of pieces of material contained in said antechamber with said collecting con-veyor when, and only when, said retaining plate is in said closed position.

8. The improvement set forth in claim 1, wherein each of said storing means comprises, in combination a plurality of rollers having horizontal axes which are transverse to the longitudinal direction of said shute, which rollers constitute said collect-ing conveyor and are arranged to guide said pieces of material in said collecting chamber in rolling contact with said rollers, and a hinged plate, which is movable along said chute to a position at the lower end of said col-lecting chamber and when in said position is adapted to be swung down unto said taking container to cause said pieces of material to be discharged from said collecting conveyor onto said taking conveyor.