GB785394A - Improvements relating to the manufacture of structures produced by depositing fibrous elements - Google Patents

Abstract

785,394. Making fibrous panels or boards &c. CHANGEWOOD CORPORATION. Sept. 22, 1955, No. 27121/55. Class 96. [Also in Groups IX, XXIII and XXX] Wood fragments, chopped straw or bagasse, or flax shives &c. are deposited in a uniform layer on a travelling belt &c. feeding the wood &c. into one end of a distributer, the other end of the distributer moving continually and successively into direct or indirect communication with separate conveyers at a rate to deliver substantially equal amounts of the elements to each, the conveyer outlets being positioned across and spaced above the collecting surface. The layer formed may be subsequently moulded into a panel or board by heat and pressure with or without a bonding agent. As shown, Fig. 1, fibrous material 10 on an endless belt 13 is fed by a picker 14 into a shoot 11 leading to a rotary distributer tube 12, driven by a motor 21, the outlet end 18 of which travels around a trough 20 delivering material successively to a series of down pipes 27 the outlets of which are disposed in two rows across the width of an endless belt, screen or lattice 32 on which the material forms into a layer 35. " Splash " plates 30 and directing troughs 33 are provided at the outlets of pipes 27 to control the deposition of the fibrous material; either the plates or the troughs may be adjustable for correcting non-uniformity of the layer 35. In an alternative arrangement, Fig. 5, a distributer pipe 40 is oscillated across the inlets of a row of down pipes 27a. The oscillation may be in simple harmonic motion or, as shown, at a more constant speed by means of an arm 44 pivoted to a constant speed chain 51. The size of the inlet openings to pipes 27a is in inverse proportion to the time of traverse of distributer 40 over the various openings, so that the amount of material entering each pipe 27a is substantially uniform. Picker 14, Fig. 1, may be replaced by a brush roller which provides an air flow along shoot 11 to assist the gravitational movement of the material; alternatively, a blower 70, Fig. 5, can supply air to shoot 11 and an exhaust fan 72 can withdraw air from beneath collecting surface 32 which is made foraminous. In a further alternative arrangement, Fig. 7, material is fed on to an endless belt 55 which is rotated as a whole about a shaft 57 so as to deliver material successively through openings 62 in a trough 63 to spouts 64 each of which delivers on to one of a series of conveyers 54 disposed across the width of collecting surface 32. Material is retained on conveyers 54 by side members 65 and is smoothed out by backwardly rotating rakes or brush rollers 67, and is doffed from conveyers 54 on to conveyer 32 by a further rotating brush. Conveyers 54 are moved at a much slower speed than conveyer 32. The delivery ends of conveyers 54 may be adjustable, as may the effective width of openings 62, for controlling uniformity of material deposition.