CA2044866A1 - Apparatus for spreading glue-coated particles in the production of pressed board - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

The apparatus for spreading glue-coated chips for the production of particle board includes between the spreadable material bunker and the spreading head, a ball separator for removing agglomerates of the glue and chips.
The unit has a disk grate which passes the bulk of the spreadable material onto a transport belt therebelow which carries the material to the delivery unit while the entraining fingers of the interdigtating disks of the grate cast the balls off an edge of the grate into a ball catcher.

Description

8~i 1~205 APPARA~S FOR SPREAD~P~G GLUE-C~ED PARTI~L~E5 IN
~HE PROW~TION O~ PRESS~D BO~D

~PECIFICATION

ou~ pre~e~t inYention rela~ o an apparatus ~or 'ch~ spreadin~ o~ glue-ooated part~c:los, ~.~. wood ohips, sawdust, c~311ulos~ fiber3 or partioles or the like, in the p~du~tion o~ pressed boa~d, for exa~pl~, par~ial~ boax~d~

M~9Le~
In the produc:tion t:~ p~e~sed boa~d, e.g. partiale ~oard, it is oomm~n to the coat the partic~l~s, especially wood chip~ or saw dust, with a ~lu~ or adheslva whlah aan be thermally a~tiva~able and whlch ~an b~nd th~ pa~ticl~s tog~th~r when a las!e~: o~ the particle~ is oompressed in a ~5 partie~le-~oaxd pr~. Presse-~ of ~hls~ type ~an ~nclude platan ~ esse~ whi~h a~e c:apable of heating ~nd aompre~s~ng the layer wlth or without a tray ~or:ming ~h~ l~ye~
support. Tll~ layer may be u~ivide~ into mats pr~or to compressis~n.

2~ata,~8~

1820~

In all of these 8yStfam5, ~ 3 ne~ecsary to ~pre~d th~3 ylue-coa~ed parti~ in a l~ye~ oal ~ tran~port su:cface, e.g. ~ continuous belt, tray or th~ l~k~.
Fo~ the spr~adlnc3 o~ tho glue-coat~d pa~tlcles~
sp~a~inc3 a~aratus is provldecl ~long the parti~lfl ~oard ~abrication line arld ~a~ aompri~ a ~preadable ma~lal bun~e~ and b6~low this spreadal~ nate~ bun~r a æpreadin~ h~ad~ ~he ~preada~le mate~ial bu~er can b~
foxmed with a meterirl~ ~elt havin~ a dia~harg~ Qnd ~om which the spreadable material i~ dischar~e~ downward~y and tbe spre~dlng head may hav~ a roller 6p~ea~1ng uni~ fed by a d~livery de~ce. The roller ~preadirlg unlt is genQrally provided with pitl rolla or roll~ other~rise provlded wi~h protuberances to ef~ect di~ribution o~ the spr~dable mat~rial over a wide area above the recelvlng su~ac~.
~n ~ne~al suc:h prior art deYi~e~ thrsw the spre~dable raaterial at the metQrlng belt dire~tly on~ e delivery devlce o~ the xo~l~r ~pr~ading un~t. The roller ~preadin~ unit can w~rlc wi~h an a~ ~preading ~yst~m ~hl~h ~o can also apply to th~ present inYention ~nd i~ dQsc:ri~ed, ampl~, in Ger~nan Pa~nt Doaumen~ D}~ 25 35 461.
When t,h~ wood chips or parti~les are coa~ed qri~ a bina~r, tl~ conventional 6y~ems enooun~r pro~lem~, BinC~! depending upon the ~ype and ~truoture oP the 25 paxtlale~, various ~orm~ o~ clumps or aggreg~tes can develop. In gener~ hi6 ~pe of ~glo~eration ~

2(~ar8~;6 1~20~

~e~erred to in the a~t ~a ball ~orma~l~n. ~ ~lump~ ~r balls, i.e. agglomera~e~ o~ glue-aoa~ed partl~le~ can pa~
into ~he sp~ead mat~ and can ~ rim~ntally af:eect the quality o~ the ~brioat~d particle board. Indeed, lt can result ln re~e~ts, ~spealally when the clumps or b~ ar~
visible ~t the ~ur~ac~ o~ the ~inishe~ parti~l~ bo~rd.
In an appara~.us for th~ ~preading o~ glue ~oa~d par~iclefi in the produation o~ par~lc:le board (~nan ~atent ~ocument 27 35 S10), the air 6pr~adlng p~rabolia lo path o~ thR materi~l ha a c~ lny trough d.i~po~d therein ~nd positioned to catoh ~h~ h~aYier ~c~cion o~ l:he materials spread oul; by the air . ~ream. T3-is trou~h i~
pro~rided with a conveyor bel~ and i~ inten~ed ~o aolleqt the }~alls of a~glomerated material which are generally heavler than ~he glu~-coated p~rti~les them~elvesO
Thi~ system al~o ha~ ~rawb~ck~ ~inc~ the n~ture o~
the way in ~rhi ::h th~a partic~e~ ars ~p~ead make~ i~
impossible to ensure that all o~ the l~all~ w~ ll be coll~ed in the receiving ~ough. Thu3 whlle t~ e~rlier sy~tem operate~ ~ a ball ~epara~o~, the ball separation ~equires improvem~nt, espec~ally when th~ ~preading material ~up~ rates may v~ry ~i~nificantly.
If, for example, with widely varylng sp~eadins~
ma~e~ial ~upply rates, ~he. ~ir ~low~ ~or ~preadin~ ~he pa~tiales ar~ a~usted to ~axi~ize 2~e r~mov~l o~ th~ ball~
form the c:urtain of pax~icle~ de~end~ng uporl the reaeiving suxface, the quality o~ Q ~pre~dlng or ~istr~butlon ls detrim~ntally a~ected.

~''L1~66 ~8~05 ~t i~, there~ore, th~ prinaip~l ob~ c o~ ~h~
pre~ent ~nvention to pro~ide ~ appar~tu~ ~or ~preading ma~e~ial o~ the type ~Q~rib~d ~o th~t, ~or ex~ple ~or th~
~a~ri~ation o~ parti~l~ board of dif~er~nt thlcknesses wi~h di~erent type~ of particle~ ~nd widely var~ring ~pread~ble mat~rial ~upply rat~s, ~liabl~ ball ~epA~tion ~an be effec:ted without detr~men~ to ths quali~y o~ th~ spxeading process .
Ano~her object of th~ invention i~ to pr~ride an improved apparatus ~or ~he spreadlng of glue-coated pa~tlc~ es wh~r~by draw~aaX~ of ~a~lter ~ys~em~ avoid~d~
Still another ob~2ct o~ the invention i~ to pr~v~d~
a~ apparatu~ ~apable o~ reli~bl~ r~moval o~ agglomerate~ or ball~ Q~ ~lue-coated par~icle~ ~or~ a ~pread~bl~ m~teri~l w~hout detriment to th~ ~preading un~o~ y ~nd th~
re~ultin~ product.

umm~y~ ~e ~t~ven~ion The~e obj~ots are atta~ned, in aoo~rdance with ~h~
~0 px~n~ in~ention 1~y providing beltweeT~ ~e di~aharge end o~
the me~e~ln~ ~on~eyor or belt of the bunker and th~
deliver~,r de~e oP tha spreading head, ~ b~ll tep~r~tor whlch ~ompri~es a d~sk grat~ ~omposed oi~ a plurality of ;6 disk sh~ft6 whi~h ~re dr~Rn ~nd ~pac~d apa~ ~rsm onQ
ano~her, the sha~ts ha~ring lntl3rdig~tating di~ks. B~low ~n inlet ~ide o~ th~ g~ate, a tran~orl~ ~el~ i pruvlded ~o~
carrying the spreadable material to ~h~ d~llv~ry dev~e ~d at the outlet end of th~ grate ~ ball catcher or c:olle~to~
i~ p~vidad~ According to ~h~ ~n~r~ntlon, th~ ~pacing o~
th~ di~ks oi~ the di6~c q~at~ is ~maller than th~ diameter~
o~ ~he ball~ to be r~m~ved ~rom the ~p~e~dable material And the speed Of ~ shafts o~ the g~ate i~ ~elected wit~
respe~t to the guan~ity of ~h~ ~preadable ma~eri 1 re~eived ~rom the meter~ng ~alt t~ be capa~ p~ing ~hl~
~uantity while ~he e~g~ o~ the di k ~r~ forned with entralnment ~eeth dimensioned and ~onf i~ur~d with respe~
ko the diam~tex~ o~ th~ ball~ to cast ~h~ ~alls ~nto th~
collector or ~a~ahex.
More ~peci~lcally, an ~ppara~u~ for spread~ng ~
spreadahle ~naterial consi. ~lng o~ glue-aoated parti~ or th~ produ~ti~rl o~ par ~cl~ bo~rd can oomp~l~e~
a spreadable-ma~erial J3u~ker :includi~g a meterlng 20 bel~ hav~ng a di~harge end ~02~ di~char~ing the ~prea~abl~
ma~erlal downwardl~,r;
a ball separat~r below th~ di~harge ~nd ~nd lnter~epting th~ material, ~P-parat~ng l~all~ ~ tlle ~preadabla materi~l ~Erom the ~alanc~ o~ the ~preada~l~
25 mate~ial intercepted by ~he ball ~ep~rator and dis~har57~ n~
the balance o~ the ~preeàable materi~l down~rardly, the ball ~eparat~ including:
a~ S _ Z0~66 a di~k ~rate ~orm~d with ~n array o~ rotatable disk sh~f~, each o~ the di~ hapt~ ~avlng ~ mul tipliqity o~ ~paced ap~rt di~ks thQreon lntexdigita~ed wlth ~is~s o~
a neighboring dist~ ~h~Pt, means ~or ~oJca~ing ~he distc ~;hR~ts ~ r~t~t~
th~ disks and advan~ ~he b~lln ~rom ~n up~tream ~ide the grate at whiah the spreadable m~t~r~al ~rom the met~ring belt i~ inter~epted ~o ~ di~oh~rg~ end o~ the grat~ at w~ich tha ball~ ar~ ca~t oi~ from the s~rate, the balarl~e o~ tAe spreadable mat~ri~l pass.~ng ~ownwardly b~ween the dis~, the disk~ having ~pacings 1~8 than the diameter~ ~ the b~
a transport 10elt below at le~6t th~ llp~tr~am ~i~e ~or colle~ting the ~preadable mat~x;l~l pa~ ~ng downw~:rdly between the d~sks and d~ rering the ~alan¢e oi~
the spreadable materi~l ~o a dis~harg~ end o~ ~he trarl~port belt, and ~all collector poslt~ on~d proximal to th~
di~ha.rsle end o~ the grate ~or catching th~ b~ a~t o~
Irom th~ . grate, 1~0~

~he di~k~ ~ing formed with entr~inln~ te~kh de~ermined by the ball diameters and adapted to engage the balls and the ~haft~; b~ing i~o~atabl1a ~t a speed in a ~p~eA r~
de~ermined by the Sruantity of ~pr~ada~l~ mat~rl~l ~o be deli~vered ~o ~he lay~r ar,d su~tlaient ~o ~row the ~all~
tn~o the c:olleotor:
a ~pr~adabl~-matorial di~tx~butor b~low th~ l~all ~;eparator Phr distributing the balan~e o~ the ~pL~eadabls m~terlal ~n a l~yer.
~0 Pre~e~a~ly thQ dell~ery d~ p~ovided at an end o~ the b~ eparator. How~ver, in another o~odlment of the inventi~n, on~ sect~on o~ ~he disX S~xate ~an be p~ovlded with a small paaing ~ the disks and ~nother ~ection with ~ wide~ ~pac~ng o~ ~he d~Sk~. In thi~
emb~diment ea~h sec~ion has a r~pectiY~ tran~por~ b~lt di~po~ed therebelow ~or carry~ng ~he ~pre~da~le ~aterlal to the delivery de~ which o~n be lo~ated below a zon~
th~ di~ gxate between the two sectlons.
~ccording to a ~eature oP th~ lnventio~ th~ ha~ts 2Q o~ t~e two 6ections can be drl~en indep~nden~ly ~rom ona another and ~t di~ferent rotary ~pe~d~.
W~ h~ve ~o~nd tha~ this appar~tus pro~des reliable ball ~e~aration even ~here th~ ~olume~ of the ~preadabl~
material passing by the device per u~ t~me must vary wid~lyO
~dvantageo~sly ~or large r~nge~ the d~k gra~e can comprise a.~e.t o~ disk ~hafts with disXs o~ erent inter-dlsk spacin~ and~or aif~ren~ entra~ning te2~h confl~uration~ and dimen6ions .

2~4~36~

Of cours~ i~ is po&~lbll~, in aa~ordan~e ~ith th~
ln~rention 'co repl~ce the di6k Ish~ nd th~ di~k~ th~reo~
with other ~haPt~ and dl~ wi~th di~er~nt ~pac:ing~ ~n~/or entraining too~h dlmen~ions ~nd con~iguratl~n~ tor ~if~erent th~ough put~ o~ glu~-coated partlcles or dir~erent p~icles~ Withln wide ranges In ~$th~r ca~e, howev~, e~ecti~re ba~l separatio~ can be ~f~ect~ad without reduation in the ~ali~y o~ the ~preading proa~s 2~nd th~
produc~s pxo~uced. Dis~C gra~es, the~nsel~res ar~ descxlbed, lo in United Sta~e~ Patent 4,037,1~3 ~ut ~s ~a~ as w~ A~e aWarB suah dis~c grat~s have r~ot hi~her~o been integrated in an appa~atu~ o~ ~he ~pe de~cr~ed to ~nsure reliabl~ ball 6epaxation~
We believe that tha uni~ue result~ oht~ined wl~h the ir~ventlon a~ a ¢hax~teris~ic o~ a oombined ~:ef~at o~
th~ spaalng o~ khe dls3c ~ the dlsk grat~ ~nd ~he propelling e~e~t of tX~e entraining ~eeth. ~h~ bulX ~ the ~preadable material can thus pa~s t~lrough ~e disX çlrate and is uniforml~ dispos~d on the ~r~n~por~ b~lt wl~lle t~e ~o clumps or balls (a~glomer~t~s) ara ~rans~rr~d ~long the grate ~o ~he di~aharg~ ~nd thereoP wh2r~ they ~re ~ung into the aatall~. Since the ~peed o~ the çlra~e ~haf~ ~an ~e ad~usted, l~rge variation~ in the ~u~nti~y o~ xp~dable material thal~ pass th~ough th~ grate can ~a ~usta~ d wi~hout inte~fer~nce of 1;he ~all~ alony th~ gra~e ~nd ~heir sep~ra'cion fx~om khe balance oP t~Q qp~eadable m~t~ri~l.

~?~4486 182~S

:
The a}: ove ~n~ o~her o~ Ct8 ~ :eal:ura~ aa~d ad~ant~g~
o~ my in~ntion will ~ me morR rea~lly apparent ~ro~ ~he ~ollow~ng descrip~$on, xe~erence be~ing mad~ to the aa~ompanying hi~hly dia~rammatic ~rawing in whiG~:
FIG. 1 i~ a diagram o~ an apparatus ac:c:ording to tl~e inYentlon;
FIG . 1~ is ~ d~t~il o~ th~ c~n~gu~ation of the dis~cs:
~IG. 1~ i~ a plan ~flew o~ ~ po~tion o~ the dt~c ~rate ~howing these di~1~s; ~nd FIG. 2 i~ ~ view ~imilar to ~. 1 o another embodimen~ o~ the in~rention.

Bas~o to the ~pparatu~ o~ FIGS. 1 ~nd 2 ar~ a spread~1~le mater~al bun1ter 1 and a ~p~ading ha~d 2 . The spr~adable ma~erial bunker com~ri~e~ a met~ring belt 3 with ~ d~h~xge end 4. The ~:preading h~ad 2 i~ ~o~ed a~ a roll~r sp~ead~ ng ~nit an~ compri~es a d~liYery ~e~rl¢~ 5 20 rec~ivin~ ~he ~preadabl~ mater~al ~rom above and d~spo~ing ~he spreadab.l~ material on the roller ~pread~n5r unlt, ~ s s~n in ~IG~ 1, the bun~er 1 can oomprlse an arra~ o~ rel~ng di~k~ or roller~ 6. ~rhe dir~ction o~
~eed o~ the ~preadable material ln~o th~ bunXer is 2 5 represented at 7 .

;~044~66 ~8205 B~tween th~ di~haxge end and th~ ~eli~rery uni~ 5, accordin~ to ~he invention, a ball ~eparator 8 io provided~ The ball ~ep~rator i8 ln th~ ~orm o~ a ~
~ra'ce who~e inlet ~ide 1R d~ ~pvsed b~low a21d rec~ive~ ~he ~pxeadable materi~l ~rom the disch~rge end 4 o~ th~ belt 3.
8exleath the up tream ~ide of the ball ~epar~tor 8, a transpoxt belt 12 extends ~FIG. 1) for aarrying o~ th~
balance of the spreadsbl~ material, ~o. the jp~eadabl~
1~ m~t2ri21 wh~h passes ~et~een the diAk~ o~ ~he gr~
~che disahRrge edg~ or ~ide OL~ ~hq ball 6epa~a~0r, a ~all her or collec:tor g is provided. The ball cat:cher i~ $n tl~e ~orm o~ a ~rc~lgh ~xom which the ~ollec~e~ b~ can be r~moved by mean~ not ~hown.
~he de~very unlt S o~ the spre~dlng hQ~d 2 i~
lo~ated below ~he ball ~eparator 8.
In the e~bodim~n~ ~hown the spreading head i~
so-a~lled 6y~unetrical roller spread~ng head, ~he ~y~et~
axi~ being r~presented ~y the ~rrow lo~ Th~ &pre~dlng ma~exial 20 ls ~olleated upon ~ recei~ g ~ur~a~e 21 which ~nay be a b~lt moving ln the di~ec~ion o~ ~e arrow 22.

~ 10 --~o~

lR20S

~he ~rr~ngemOEnt i~ ~o c:or~tructed that the di~C
~pac~.ng, i . e. the ~pac~ng ~etw~sn ~he disl~ 11 ( eel FIG.
~'B) iB ~malle~ th~n th~ diamete~ o~ th~ ball~ to b~
~eparated. The ball sqparato~ 8 oan h~e lt~ ~haft~
::oupl~d to a dri~e ~ ~FIG. 1) ~o that th~ ~ha~ts oan ~e driven with ~p2ed~ rylng o~er a pred.etermined ~peed ~angR
w~ich can double be~twean m~niu~ ~p~ed and ~naximu~ ~poed, :eor example ~ th~ ~peed belnq ~elected in ~cco~dar~o~ with the ~rolume c~ ~he spreadabl¢ mater~ ~1 to be forme~ into a layer per unit ~ime~
As can be seen ~rom ~lGS . lA and 1~3 ~h~ d~k3 can have entraining fingers ~ which, at the ~peed~ o the xe~pec~i~e ~aft ca~ aas'c ~he ball-~ in~o ~e ~a'cche~
The ~n~rainin~ f~ng~rs 13 can h~e lengthc eg~ o approximately the dia~ete~ o~ a bal~L z~d prei~erably not smaller th~n the diamete~. Th~ ~oth helght or d~pth ~hould at lea~t, thexe~ore, egual the ~ ter o~ th~
l~r~e~t of the ~alls or a~glomerates ~o be ~a~t o~. In the embod~ment o~ ~IG. 1, the ~llve~r unit 5 L~ loaa~ed at ~h~ end o~ the ball ~epara~ wher~as ln ~h~
embo~imen~ o FI~. 2, whl~h shows only ~he lowe~ ~art o~
~che app~ratus the ball ~ep~rator ~ has a dl~k gr~4~ tlon ~ with a 6mall spaoing ~f th~ d~k~ 11 and a ~ c grat~
~e~tion ~ with ~ wider spacing of the dis1c~ 11.

~g~866 In th~ region be~we~ ~h~ two 6e~tion~ ~ And ~, ~he delivery unit 5 i~ disposed. Bel~w eaoh o~ the sectlon~

and ~ a re~peotive transporé belt i~ provided ~0 ~ee~ th~
passed ~atarial to th~ delivery Uni~ 5. ~he shafts o~ the sections a and k are ~riVen ~i~h di~erent ro~y ~p~eds ind~penqently ~rom one a~other by thQ 6epara~e drl~es D
and D~. As in the embodime.nt of Fig. 1, the'deli,very unit can comprise a pair of pivotal flaps 5a' and 5b dir'ecting the spreadable materi-al onto a pair of disk'shafts 5c and'Sd having interdigitating disks and depositing,,in turn, th.e' material sy.~metrically on diverging arrays'of disk sh:afts 2a and 2b, also with interdigitating disks.

la ~

Claims (10)

1. An apparatus for spreading a spreadable material consisting of glue-coated particles for the production of particle board, comprising:
a spreadable-material bunker including a metering belt having a discharge end for discharging said spreadable material downwardly;
a ball separator below said discharge end and intercepting said material, separating balls of the spreadable material from the balance of the spreadable material intercepted by the ball separator and discharging said balance of said spreadable material downwardly, said ball separator including:
a disk grate formed with an array of rotatable disk shafts, each of said disk shafts having a multiplicity of spaced apart disks thereon interdigitated with disks of a neighboring disk shaft, means for rotating said shafts to rotate said and advance said balls from an upstream side of said grate at which said spreadable material from said metering belt is intercepted to a discharge end of said grate at which said balls are cast off from said grate, said balance of said spreadable material passing downwardly between said disks, said disks having spacings less than the diameters of said balls, a transport belt below at least said upstream side for collecting said spreadable material passing downwardly between said disks and delivering said balance of said spreadable material to a discharge end of the transport belt, and a ball collector positioned proximal to said discharge end of said grate for catching said balls cast off from said grate, said disks being formed with entraining teeth determined by said diameters and adapted to engage said balls and said shafts being rotatable at a speed in a speed range sufficient to throw said balls into said collector;
a spreadable-material distributor below said ball separator for distributing said balance of said spreadable material in a layer.

2. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein said spreadable-material distributor below said ball separator is disposed below said discharge end of said grate.

3. The apparatus defined in claim wherein said grate is formed with a first section having a relatively narrow spacing of the disks thereof and a second section having a relatively wide spacing of the disks thereof, said spreadable-material distributor below said ball separator being disposed below a region between said sections, a respective transport belt being provided beneath each of said sections for delivering the spreadable material to said distributor

4 . The apparatus defined in claim 3 wherein said means for rotating said disk shafts to rotate said disks includes means for rotating the shafts of said first and second sections at different rotary speeds.

5.The apparatus defined in claim 4 wherein said grate has disks of different inter-disk spacings.

6.The apparatus defined in claim 5 wherein said grate has disks of different entraining tooth dimensions.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein said grate has disks of different inter-disk spacings.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 8 wherein said grate has disks of different inter-disk spacings.

9. The apparatus defined in claim 8 wherein said grate has disks of different entraining tooth dimensions.

10. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein said grate has disks of different entraining tooth dimensions.