FR2488101A1 - Machine filling tray with plant growing material - has carriage carrying trays, advanced under conveyor during filling, and moved sideways for discharge - Google Patents

Abstract

The machine for filling trays (5) with plant growing material (2a) cut into blocks, has a horizontal conveyor (3) which advances the blocks towards the loading position. At this point are two trays, side by side, mounted on a two section carriage (4) which can be moved to a position under the conveyor at the start of the filling operation. They are then advanced as the material is deposited into them, until full. The carriage travels on longitudinal tracks (1) each side of the conveyor, and carries a column with a blade (6) attached, which is raised or lowered to control the supply of material from the conveyor. When each tray is full, it is moved sideways on rails at right angles to the tracks into a discharge position, and is then returned for filling.

Description

Device for loading crates or pallets into clods from a machine for manufacturing such clods.

 The present invention relates to a device for loading crates or pallets into clods from a machine for manufacturing such clods.

 The technical sector of the invention is that of agricultural machines and more particularly apparatuses finding their application in association with machines for manufacturing clods known as "clods".

 Machines are already known for making clods and for continuously loading crates or pallets carried by a carriage with longitudinal displacement.

 The present invention is an improvement of such machines.

 The objective to be achieved is a device allowing, continuously, the loading of the crates or pallets placed on said trolley, the precise separation of the quantity of clods loaded, the removal of the crates or pallets loaded, as well as the installation of empty crates or pallets for loading.

 This objective is achieved by the device for loading crates or pallets into cultivation clods coming from a machine for manufacturing clods, which form transverse rows and are moved in the longitudinal direction of the machine, which device comprises a conveyor for directing clods towards a trolley guided in translation and arranged in the extension of said conveyor under the effect of the thrust exerted by the clods supported on the rear part of the trolley, characterized in that the trolley comprises means for maneuvering it and a separating member for separating the clod band, moved by the conveyor, the clods to be loaded on the carriage, which member comprises at least one separating blade, means for lowering the blade and bringing it back into position.

 In one embodiment, the trolley has at least two juxtaposed locations for placing the crates or pallets transversely to the conveyor, each of said locations being able to be placed alternately in the extension of the conveyor for the continuous loading of the crates or pallets. trolley is movable on the one hand in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor to put its rear end near the front end of the conveyor and on the other hand in the transverse direction thereto after it has been moved away from the conveyor, after loading , to release and remove the crate or pallet loaded with lumps and put in position a new crate or pallet for loading. said carriage is mounted to roll in the transverse direction on guide means carried by a chassis, itself mounted to roll in the longitudinal direction to the conveyor on guide means connected to the structure thereof.

 The separating member is slidably mounted on a vertical upright fixed to the end of the carriage, located on the side of the conveyor and between said locations for placing the crates or pallets there, which member has two separating blades located on either side of said upright, each of said blades moving in a vertical plane passing through said end of the carriage and at the entrance to each of said locations.

 Said blades are of a height greater than the height of the lumps and are each of a length slightly less than the width of the strip of lumps, moved by the conveyor.

 The separator blades are fixed to a slide cooperating with the vertical upright and the separator member comprising the slide and the blades is returned to the high position by means of a spring hooked on the one hand to said member and on the other hand to the upper end of the upright.

 The displacement in translation of the carriage and the operation of the separating member are obtained manually by means of a gripping member fixed to said separating member.

 The conveyor is removably connected to the machine for making the lumps and consists of two rollers around which are mounted, engaged in grooves reserved at the periphery of the rollers, endless belts, which belts move in planes vertical parallel to each other and extending in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor.

 These belts are of a circular cross section and the connection between the machine and the conveyor, to allow the displacement of the clods and their support by the latter, is carried out by means of a fixed transfer bridge composed of several rods mutually parallel extending in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor.

 The result of the invention consists of a device making it possible, continuously, to carry out the loading of pallets or crates in clods.

 Compared to existing devices and comprising an independent plate for the separation of clods, the device according to the invention has many advantages.

 These advantages are mainly at the level of the precision of maneuver thanks to the separating member which makes it possible to carry out the separation of the clods with a view to their loading on the pallets or the crates with a maximum of ease and a greater speed of execution. . Also, the design of the trolley can receive two or more crates or pallets to allow the loading of one of them during the removal of the other once loaded, and the placing on the trolley of another empty pallet or crate .

 The arrangement according to the invention allows the separation of the exact amount of lumps to be deposited on the pallets or in the crates, without running the risk of mutilating the lumps during the operation.

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention will become apparent on reading the following description of an embodiment of said device with reference to the appended drawing in which
FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the device according to the invention,
FIG. 2 is a view in longitudinal section of the device according to the invention, at the start of the loading of a crate placed on the carriage,
FIG. 3 is a view in longitudinal section of said device, the carriage comprising a crate loaded with lumps is placed in position to be moved transversely,
- Figure 4 is a top view of the device whose carriage is in the position illustrated in Figure 3, the clods are not shown.

 Reference is first made to FIG. 1 of the drawing which generally illustrates a device according to the invention 1, in a preferred embodiment, which is fixed to a machine for making the clods 2 and in the extension of the conveyor belt 2a of the latter. The device 1 is connected to the machine 2 in a removable manner and consists of a conveyor 3 extending the belt 2a and a carriage 4 maneuverable in translation in the direction of the conveyor 3 and transversely thereto. This chassis 4 is adapted to receive two juxtaposed crates 5 (or pallets) which are intended to receive a load of clods in one layer.

 The carriage 4 comprises, on the side of the conveyor 3, a separating member 6 of the clods displaced by the conveyor 3. The movement of the carriage 4 in the longitudinal and transverse directions relative to the conveyor 3 and the operation of the separating member 6 operating like a guillotine, are obtained manually due to the existence of a handle 6a fixed to said member 6.

 The machine described comprises a carriage with manual movement.

This can be electric, hydraulic or even pneumatic for total automation of the device.

 Referring now to Figures 2 to 4 of the drawing which schematically illustrate the design and operation of the machine according to the invention.

 The conveyor 3 consists of a structure comprising 3 at its lower part, two rails 3a for example made from tubes of square section and two flanges 3b, fixed to said rails and on which are mounted the conveyor transfer means. The beams are interconnected for example by means of crosspieces.

 The connection of the conveyor 3 to the machine for manufacturing the clods 2 is carried out in the following manner: the machine 2 comprises longitudinal members 2b, the ends of which extend on either side and parallel to the belt 2a of the machine. These beams are of a square section, for example less than the lower section of the tubes 3a of the conveyor and are engaged in said tubes 3a. The attachment of the conveyor 3 to the machine 2 is for example obtained by means of pins passing through the tubes 2b / 3a right through, or even by means of quarter-turn pressure screws 7, maneuvered by means of a lever.

 The conveyor transfer means 3 consist of a drive roller 3c, located on the side of the flanges 3b and of an end roller 3d. These two rollers are carried by a structure extending in a plane parallel to the side members 3a. Around said rolls 3c13d, which are preferably made of a plastic material, are wound endless belts 3e, for example made of neoprene, which are of a circular cross section and are engaged in grooves reserved at the periphery of rollers 3c / 3d. Said belts 3e are distributed over the length of the rollers 3c / 3d and move in parallel planes with one another, each belt being located in one plane. Under the carrying strands 3el of the belts, a plate 3f, preferably made of aluminum, is fixed. This sheet extends across the width and between said rollers and has the function of supporting said carrying strands 3e1 when the conveyor is loaded with lumps.

 A space E is reserved between the mobile assembly 3c / 3d / 3d of the conveyor 3 and the side members 3a, to allow movement under said assembly of the carriage 4. As can be seen in Figures 2/3 of the drawing, the mobile assembly of the conveyor 3 extends cantilevered above the side members 3a.

 The step-by-step advancement of the roller assembly 3c / 3d / belts 3e is obtained by a freewheel device fixed at the end of the shaft of the drive roller 3c and connected in a manner known per se to a system of lever existing on machine 2, by means of a cable, a chain and a return spring.

 At its front end, that is to say on the side of the carriage 4, the conveyor 3 comprises an inclined ramp composed of several rods 3fil, of a circular cross section, which are distributed over the width of the conveyor. These rods extend from the plane in which the carrying strands 3e1 of the belts 3e are, up to near the bottom 5a of the crates 5 carried by the carriage 4.

 At its other end, the conveyor 3 has a bridge 3g which, like the inclined ramp 3fixe consists of several rods of circular section 3g1 also distributed over the width of the conveyor.

The bridge 3g is fixed to the conveyor 3 and makes it possible to carry out the transfer of the clods coming from the belt conveyor 2a of the machine 2, so that it is supported by the set of belts 3e / rollers 3c / 3d of the conveyor 3.

 The carriage 4 is carried by a movable chassis 8 comprising two longitudinal members 8a connected to each other by crosspieces. These beams are made from square tubes whose lower wall 8b has a slot over its entire length.

 This chassis 8 is mounted to rolling below the structure of the conveyor 3. The latter comprises four supports 3h at the rate of two supports per spar 3a, one being on the side of one end thereof, the another on the side of the other end, the supports of the two side members facing each other and two by two.

 The supports 3h are bent at their lower part so that a part is located below the beam 8a of the chassis 8.

Each of said supports carries a roller or a ball or roller bearing 9 mounted for free rotation and cooperating with a raceway located inside the side members 8a and constituted by the internal face 8c of the upper wall of the tubes 8a.

 The chassis 8 is thus free to move in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor 3 and below it.

 Said chassis comprises, at its end furthest from the conveyor 3, means 8d, which are fixed to the side members 8a and carry rollers 10 or ball or roller bearings, mounted, like the rollers 9, with free rotation. These rollers 10 are arranged like the rollers 9 and are thus envisaged in pairs.

 The carriage 4 consists of two crosspieces 4a which are mutually parallel and connected to each other by means of angles 4b, which angles are all of the same length and constitute the lateral edges of the rectangular locations in which the crates are placed. 5.

 The angles 4h1 constitute the lateral edges of the carriage, the angles 4b2 are located in the central part of the carriage and are spaced from each other according to a space e.

 At their end located on the side of the conveyor 3, the angles 4b have a return 4b3 to partially delimit the location of the crates on the side of said conveyor.

 The angles 4b have at their other end a sheet metal wall of greater height 4b4 to partially delimit, at the rear of the carriage, the location of the crates 5. These are thus held in position in said locations; 'they have just been described.

 The crosspieces 4a have, on their lower wall 4c, a longitudinal slot through which the supports 8d of the rollers 10 have passed, which cooperate with the internal face 4d of the upper wall of the said crosspieces.

 The chassis 4 is thus mounted to roll in the transverse direction to the chassis 8 and due to the mounting of the latter is movable in two perpendicular directions.

 At its end situated on the side of the conveyor 3, the carriage 4 comprises between said angles 4b2, an upright 4e, for example of a square cross section, which upright extends perpendicular to the carriage to which it is fixed. On the 4th upright is slidably mounted a slider 4f produced from a tube of a square cross section whose internal section is slightly greater than the section of the 4th upright.

 Said slide 4f carries two metal blades 4g called separator blades. These blades 4g move in the same vertical plane located at the right end of the carriage coming opposite the conveyor 3. These blades 4g are of a height greater than the height of the clods 11 and extend on the one hand below and on the other hand on the side of the slide 4f. Their fixing is consolidated by means of two gussets welded to said slide.

 The separating organ 4f / 4g thus functions as a guillotine. The blades 4g being adapted to move in front of the entrance to the locations of the crates 5 and inside- of the cross section thereof.

 The slide 4f has a hooking point 4h, at its lower part. The upright 4d also has a hooking point 4j at its upper part. These attachment points 4h / 4d being for example rods adopting the form of hooks. To each of the 4h / 4d hooks is fixed the end of a 4K tension spring. The function of this spring is to allow the blades 4g to be lowered towards the lower part of the carriage 4 and to bring them back to their high rest position. A handle 4t in the shape of a rectangular handle is fixed by welding to the separating member 4f / 4g to allow on the one hand to maneuver the blades 4g and on the other hand to move the carriage 4 in its two perpendicular directions.

 The clods 11, produced by the machine 2, are conveyed by the belt 2a, and, pushed by the latter, pass over the bridge 3g to be picked up by the conveyor 3.

 Two crates or pallets 5 are arranged on the locations provided for this purpose on the carriage 4, which, having previously been maneuvered in the direction of the arrow F and positioned in front of the conveyor 3, is placed in a position such that a crate is located in the extension of said conveyor.

The carriage is then pushed in the direction of the arrow
F1 in order to put it in the loading position of the crate, the conveyor 3 being engaged in the latter until the ramp 1 comes close to the rear part 5a of the crate.

 The clods 11 supported by the conveyor 3 and operating step by step are moved to the side of the crate 5, take the ramp 3f and are deposited in the crate. No offset of the clod band occurs thanks to the design of the conveyor 3 which includes the endless belts. The first transverse row of clods coming to bear on the rear part of the crate, the advancement of the strip of clods causes the carriage 4 to move step by step.

 When the latter has moved a certain distance, and the separating blades 4g of the separating member are plumb with a dividing line located between two rows of transverse clods and the quantity of rows of clods necessary for loading a crate has been counted, for example as illustrated by the position of the separating member drawn in dotted lines in FIG. 2, this, operated by its handle 4t, is lowered to separate from the strip of clods the aforementioned quantity.

 Correlatively, the carriage 4 is moved in the direction of the arrow F2, the separating member being always held lowered during the transfer to maintain the loading of the crate 5, and to be stopped in its longitudinal travel, in the position illustrated on the Figure 3, in front of the conveyor 3. As soon as the carriage is put in this position, the separating blades 4g are brought back by the spring 4K to their high position and the carriage is immediately moved in the transverse direction to the conveyor 3 given by the arrow F3 (fig. 4) so as to place the empty pallet in the extension of the conveyor and to return the carriage to its loading position in FIG. 2.

 During the movement of the carriage from the previous phase, the clods moved on the 3F1 ramp and, as soon as the crate is in position, loading can continue.

 During this time, the previously loaded crate 5 is removed from the carriage and is replaced by an empty crate and the cycle continues depending on the quantity of clods to be packed.

Claims (9)

1 - Device for loading crates (5) or pallets in clods  ture (ll) from a machine (2) for making clods,  which form transverse rows and are moved.  longitudinal direction of the machine (2), which device comprises a  conveyor (3) to direct the clods towards a carriage (4), guided  translation and arranged in the extension of said conveyor (3) under  the effect of the push exerted by the clods (ll), supported on  the rear part of the carriage, characterized in that the carriage (4)  includes means for maneuvering it (4t / 6a) and a separate member  teur (4g / 6) to separate from the strip of clods moved by the con  voyeur (3) clods (I1) to be loaded on the carriage (4),  which member comprises at least one separating blade, means  (4t / 6a-) to lower the blade and (4k) to bring it back to position  high. 2 - Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the cha  riot (4) has at least two locations juxtaposed transversely  Lement to the conveyor (3) to arrange the crates (5) or pallet  tes, each of said locations can be alternately placed  in the extension of the conveyor (3) for loading in con  tin of crates or pallets, which trolley (4) is moved  ble on the one hand in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor (3) to put  be its rear end close to the front end of the con  conveyor and on the other hand in the transverse direction to said conveyor  (3) after it has been removed from it, after loading, to  clear and remove the crate (5) or the pallet loaded in clod5 (11)  and position a new crate or pallet in sight  of its load. 3 - Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the cha  riot (4) is mounted with bearings in the transverse direction on  guide means (4a / 10) carried by a frame (8), itself mounted  running longitudinally on the conveyor (3) on  guide means (8a / 9) connected to the structure thereof. 4 - Device according to any one of claims 2 and 3, charac  terized in that the separating member (4f / 4g) is slidably mounted  on a vertical upright (4th), fixed to the end of the carriage (4)  located on the side of the conveyor (3) and between said locations for  place there the crate (5) or the pallet, which organge comprises  two separating blades (4g), located on either side of the upright  (4th), each of said blades moving in a vertical plane  passing through said end of the carriage (4) and at the entrance of each  of said locations. 5 - Device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, charac  terized in and that said blades (4g) are of a higher height  at the level of the clods (11) and are each of a slight length-  less than the width of the clod band, moved by  convey it (3). 6 - Device according to any one of claims 2 to 5 charac  in that the separating blades (4g) are attached to a neck  aisseau (413 cooperating with the vertical upright (4th) and the member  separator comprising the slide (4f) and the blades (4g), is  recalled in the high position by means of a spring (4k) hooks  on the one hand to said organ and on the other hand on the side of the end su  lower upright (4th). 7 - Device according to any one of claims 2 to 6, charac  terized in and that the translational movement of the carriage (4) and  the operation of the separating member is obtained manually at  by means of a gripping member (4Z) fixed to said member. 8 - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the  strand carry (3el) of the conveyor (3) is supported by a sheet (3f)  extending below said strand, which conveyor (3) comprises, a  one end, an inclined ramp (3fl) to accompany the clods  (II) and place them on the bottom of the crates (5) or of the pallets,  characterized in that the conveyor (3) is loosely connected  visible to the machine (2) for making the lumps and in that it  consists of two rollers (3c / 3d) around which are mounted  in grooves reserved for the periphery of the rollers,  endless belts (3e), which belts move in  vertical planes parallel to each other and extending in the direction  longitudinal of the conveyor (3). 9 - Device according to claim 8, characterized in that the  belts (3e) are of a circular cross section and in that the  connection between said machine (2) and the conveyor (3), to allow  be the displacement of the clods (11) and their management by  this one, Pst made using a fixed transfer bridge (3g)  composed of several rods parallel to each other extending in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor.