US3006389A

US3006389A - Double edge veneer jogger and jointer

Info

Publication number: US3006389A
Application number: US734688A
Authority: US
Inventors: John J Pearl
Original assignee: Cascades Plywood Corp
Current assignee: Cascades Plywood Corp
Priority date: 1955-08-02
Filing date: 1958-05-12
Publication date: 1961-10-31
Anticipated expiration: 1978-10-31
Also published as: US2834384A

Description

Oct. 31, 1961 J. J. PEARL DOUBLE EDGE VENEER JOGGER AND JOINTER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 12, 1958 INVENTOR. JO/l/V 1/ P/FA/QL A 7'7'OE/VE Y5 Oct. 31, 1961 J. J. PEARL DOUBLE EDGE VENEER JOGGER AND JOINTER 4 Sheets$heet 2 Filed May 12, 1958 Oct. 31, 1961 J. J. PEARL 3,006,389

DOUBLE EDGE VENEER JOGGER AND JOINTER Filed May 12, 1958 4 Sheets-$heet 5 INVENTOR. Ja/K/V f/T Pz-AAL 7 I BY WMQW Oct. 31, 1961 J. J. PEARL DOUBLE EDGE VENEER JOGGER AND JOINTER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 12, 1958 INVENTOR. JOHN J PEARL United States Patent 3,006,389 DOUBLE EDGE VENEER JOGGER AND JOINTER John J. Pearl, Lebanon, reg., assignor to Cascades Plywood Corporation, Portland, 0reg., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 12, 1958, Ser. No. 734,688 14 Claims. (Cl. 144117) The invention relates to a veneer jogger and jointer which includes mechanism to effect edge-for-edge reversal of a pack of veneer sheets in the jogging and jointing sequence so that both edges of each sheet in such a pack will be planed during passage of the pack through the machine without requiring manual handling. This application is a companion of my copending application Serial No. 525,911, entitled Veneer Jogger and Jointer, now Patent No. 2,834,384.

In processing two packs of sheets simultaneously it is an object following jogging of one pack and jointing of another pack to be able to shift one pack from the jogger to the jointer and the other pack from the jointer'to the jogger at the same time without interference and specifically to effect such transfer at difierent levels.

An incidental object is to feed a pack of sheets into one side of a jointer and back out the same side with minimum interference with the next pack of jogged sheets to be jointed.

Another incidental object is to be able to feed a pack of sheets into one side of the jogger and out from the same side of the jogger without interference with another pack of sheets and a companion object is to turn such a pack of sheets side-for-side during such movement into and out of the jogger. A specific object is during such movement out of the jogger to prevent relative edgewise shifting of the sheets in a pack while the pack is being turned from a position in which the sheets are disposed in upright planes to a position in which the sheets are in horizontal planes and in accomplishing this object it is a further object to utilize arms which serve three distinct functions, first that of moving a pack of sheets onto the jogger, second that of confining one side of the pack of sheets while it is being jogged on the jogger and third that of holding the sheets in the pack against relative edgewise movement while the pack is being turned to dispose the sheets horizontally during removal of the pack from the jogger.

-An additional object is to effect movement of a pack of sheets from the jogger to the jointer with the sheets disposed substantially in horizontal planes to minimize the tendency of the sheets to be shifted edgewise relatively despite movement of two packs of sheets between the jogger and the jointer simultaneously in opposite directions.

It is also an object of the invention to provide mechanism which will jog sheets of a pack satisfactorily so that the opposite edges of the sheets in the pack can be jointed satisfactorily even though the sheets in the pack may differ considerably in width.

These objects can be accomplished by a machine to which packs of sheets are fed successively, preferably endwise, with the sheets disposed in horizontal planes. The pack of sheets is then shifted edgewise and tilted to dispose the sheets in upright planes on a jogger which will jog the sheets until their lower edges are disposed in coplanar registry. This sheet pack will then be laid down so that the pack occupies a horizontal plane substantially level with the jointer and the pack is discharged from the same side of the jogger into which it was loaded, and beneath the supply conveyor, to the jointer. As the first pack of jogged sheets is being thus transferred, the next pack of sheets will be moved from the supply conveyor to the jogger. The first and second pack of 3,006,389 Patented Oct. 31, 1961 ice sheets will then be jointed and jogged, respectively, simultaneously. Thereafter the pack of sheets having one edge jointed will be shifted from the jointer out of the side toward the jogger and upward to the jogger while the second pack of sheets is being shifted from the jogger to the jointer in the same manner that the first pack of sheets was shifted as described. When the first pack of sheets is moved into the jogger, jogged and moved out of the same side of the jogger to the jointer for jointing of the other edges of the sheets, such pack will have been inverted side-for-side so that the other edge will be moved into the jointer. At the time that the second pack of sheets is being moved from the jogger to the jointer for the second time, the first pack of sheets having bothedges jointed will be moved from the jointer to a discharge conveyor while a third pack of sheets is moved by the supply conveyor to the jogger. The machine repeats this procedure so that both edges of all sheets in each pack are jointed between the time that the pack of sheets is supplied to the machine and the time that it is discharged from the machine.

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the jogger andjointer machine.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the machine with parts broken away and showing the parts in one operative relationship. FIGURES 3, 4, 5 and 6 are generally similar views showing parts in diflEerent operative relationships,

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on line 7-7 of FIGURE 2 with parts broken away.

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary vertical section of the jogging mechanism.

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary side elevation view taken on line 9-9 of FIGURE 1 with parts broken away showing the conveyor drive mechanism, and FIGURE '10 is a fragmentary plan view of this mechanism taken on line 10-'10 of FIGURE 2. -It has been customary practice for workmen at opposite ends of a pack of veneer sheets to tilt the pack from a horizontal position to a position in which the sheets are on edge and then to slide various veneer sheets downward as necessary and jostle the sheets until all their lower edges are in practically the same plane. The pack of veneer sheets would then be placed-in a jointer for jointing the edges of the sheets in registry. The

7 to remove from the machine the packs of veneer sheets after only one edge had been jointed and to re-run the packs through the machine to joint the other edges of the sheets.

By use of the jointing and jogging machine of the present invention, each pack of veneer sheets is manipulated to joint the opposite edges of the sheets sequentially while the sheet pack is in the machine, and such jointing is effected with a minimum waste of material even though the sheets in the pack are of various widths. A pack of veneer sheets to be jointed is supplied to the machine by the feed conveyor roller 1 in the direction indicated. by the arrow in FIGURE 1 at a location between the jogger shown in the upper portion of that figure and the jointer shown in the lower portion. When jointing of both edges of each sheet in the pack has been completed, the pack will be returned to a position in alignment with the feed conveyor and will be discharged from the machine by the rolls 2 of the discharge conveyor in the direction indicated by the arrow. When in position for movement into or out of the machine, the pack of sheets willrest on the rolls 3 located between the feed conveyor roll 1 and the discharge conveyor rolls 2. All of the

rolls

1, 2 and 3 are driven simultaneously by a chain 3' interconnecting them so that a pack of sheets to be jointed will be moved into the machine at the same time that a pack of sheets having its edges jointed is moved out of the machine.

, In FIGURE 2 a pack of veneer sheets P is shown carried by the rolls 3 in a position to start its progress through the jogging and jointing machine. The sheet pack is shifted lengthwise of the rolls by belts 4 located alongside the rolls 3, the upper stretches of which are raised into positions above the rolls by upward movement of the belt backing strips 5 effected by extension of the air pressure actuated piston and cylinder actuators 6. As shown in FIGURE 1 these belts are driven in a direction to shift the pack of veneer sheets to the right as seen in FIGURES 2 and 3. Such movement of the pack will be arrested by engagement of its leading edge with the bars 7 of the jogger mechanism. Since the belts 4 are smooth, they will simply slip beneath the pack of sheets until the pack isvready to be fed into the jogger.

When the pack of sheets is to be placed in the jogger, the air actuated cylinder 8 will be extended from the position shown in FIGURE 2 to that of FIGURE 4 so as to swing arm 9 of frame 10 through an angle of 90 degrees for elevating the arms 11 from the positions shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 to the positions shown in FIGURE 4. The length of the arms 11 is sufficient so that the roller 12 on the end of each arm will engage the lowermost sheet of the veneer pack adjacent to the left edge of the pack as seen in FIGURES 2 and 3. Consequently, the effect of the arms 11 being swung upward is to tilt the pack of sheets from horizontal to upright position as shown in FIGURE 4.

The arms 11 will swing about the center of shaft 13 as an axis during this movement. The end of each arm 11 projects to the right beyond shaft 13 to a location adjacent to the arms 7 as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, so that when such arms are in the upright position the entrance to the jogger space is substantially closed by the right ends of arms 11. When the arms 11 are in their upright positions, however, as shown in FIGURE 4, there will be suflicient space between the arms 11 and the arms 7 to receive a pack of sheets considerably exceeding the sum of the thicknesses of all the veneer sheets in the pack. The lower edges of the veneer sheets will rest upon and be supported by the jogger bars 14 when the sheets are on edge standing between the arms 7 and the arms 11. The

arms

7 and 11 are maintained in their upright positions during jogging of the sheet pack. The jogger bars 14 are mounted on the beam 15 which is carried by the ends of the arms 16. As shown in F IG- 8, these bars normally are held in a predetermined position floating between springs 17 and 18 on rod 19 which is anchored to the machine frame 20. During jogging the arms 16 are swung to raise and drop the pack of sheets by air pressure piston and cylinder actuating means 21 of which there-may be one or more. By downward movement of the bars 14 the lower edges of the sheets in the pack will be dropped onto the stop bars 22 which are pivotally supported on the shaft 23. The impact of the sheet edges on these stop bars will bring them all into registry in a horizontal plane even though some of the veneer sheets may be warped considerably.

When the jogging operation has been completed, the next step is to transfer the pack of sheets to the jointer. During such transfer, however, it is important that the sheets be held against relative edgewise movement so that registry of the sheet edges will be maintained until the pack of sheets is clamped in the jointer. The pack of sheets was fed to the jogger from the left as seen in FIG-

ures

2, 3 and 4, and the jointer is located to the left of the jogger as seen in these figures. Consequently, it is desired to remove the pack of sheets from the same side of the jogger into which it was fed. Also, in order to be able to process both edges of the sheet pack, it isnecessary at some stage of the operation to turn the sheet pack sidefor-side and it is convenient to effect such inversion of the pack during its progress through the jogger.

In removing the sheet pack from the jogger, therefore, it will be swung from the upright position of FIGURE 4 to the horizontal position of FIGURE 5 in the same direction that it was swung from the horizontal position of FIGURE 3 to the upright position of FIGURE 4. To effect such tilting of the sheet pack the arms 7 are swung about the axis of their supporting shaft 24 from the upright position of FIGURES 2, 3 and 4 to the lowered position of FIGURES 5 and 6. Such movement of the arms is accomplished by contraction of the air operated piston and cylinder actuators 25 from the position of FIGURE 4 to the position of FIGURE 5.

During swinging of the arms 7 from their upright positions to their lowered positions, it is important to keep the pack of sheets in relatively compact condition and to urge the edges of the sheets against reference registering meansJ As the pack of sheets is tilted, therefore, the arms 11 are swung about the axis of shaft 1'3 from the position shown in FIGURE 4 to that of FIGURE 5 so as to follow the movement of the sheets. Because the arms 7 swing about the axis of shaft 24 and the arms 11 are swung about the axis of shaft 13, the sheet pack will move edgewise generally lengthwise of arms 11 away from shaft 13. As such movement progresses the rollers 12 will engage the upper side of the sheet pack which tend 'to urge the sheet pack to the left. The stop bars 22 will be swung upward conjointly with downward swinging of arms 7 so as to constitute reference means against which the registering edges of the sheets in the pack may hear so as to maintain them in registry until the pack has reached the position of FIGURE 5.

Swinging of arms 11 from the position of FIGURE 4 to the position of FIGURE 5 in the manner described is accomplished by expansion of the air pressure piston and cylinder actuator 26. One end of this actuator is connected to the frame 10, tilting of which is controlled by the piston and cylinder actuator 8 as previously described, and the other end of actuator 26 is connected to'the arm '27 as seen in FIGURES 4, 5 and 7, for example. By providing separate actuators for swinging the arms 11 from the positions of FIGURE 3 to the positions of FIGURE 4 and from the positions of FIGURE 4 to the positions of FIGURE 5, positive control is obtained over the location of the arms in upright position.

The details or the arm and actuator mounting are shown in FIGURE 7. The shaft 13 is journaled in bearings 28 and pulleys 29, on which belts 4 run, are mounted loosely on this shaft. The arm 27 is formed integral with-collar 30 which is keyed to shaft 13. Frame 10 includes collar 31 which is rotatively mounted on collar 30 and arm 9 projects from collar 31. The arm 11 are integral with clamps 32 which are secured on the shaft 13.

As actuator 8 is extended to swing frame 10 from the position of FIGURE 3 to that of FIGURE 4, collar 31 will be heldagainst movement relative to collar 30 by the interconnnection of actuator 26 between frame 10 and arm 27 so that the shaft 13 keyed to collar 30 will be rotated through the same angle as the frame 10 is swung; Arms 11 secured to shaft 13 will be swung similarly through the same angle as shaft 13 is rotated and frame 10 is swung so that such arms will be disposed in the definite upright position of FIGURE 4 when the actuator 8 has been fully extended. During the next operation, therefore, when actuator 26 is extended, frame 10 will be held stationary by actuator 8 and actuator 26 will effect rotation of collar 30, and consequently of shaft 13, relative tocollar 31 and frame 10. Again arms 11 will be swung as shaft 13 is rotated and through an equal angle. The stroke of actuator 26 should be sufficiently great so that the wheels 12 will be held in contact with the upper side of the sheetpack until it reaches the position of FIGURE however thick the pack may i e.

The jointer is at the left of the jogger as seen in FIGURE 5. The pack of sheets can be shifted from the position shown in FIGURE 5 toward the jointer by belts 33 moving in the direction indicated by the'arrows in FIGURES 5 and 6. To enable the sheet pack to be moved in this direction, however, it is necessary first to move the stop bars 22 out of the way without raising the arms 7 again to the upright position shown in FIGURE 4. Such movement of the stop bars is effected by retraction of fluid pressure piston and cylinder actuator 34 from the position of FIGURE 5 to that of FIGURE 6. Such actuator retraction swings the stop bars about pivots 23. By retraction of

actuators

8 and 26 the arms 11 can be swung first relative to frame back into the position of FIGURE 4 and thereafter, by swinging of the frame from the position of FIGURE 4, to the position of FIGURES 2 and 3.

The pack of jogged sheets will be carried by the belts 33 through the position shown in FIGURE 6 almost to the position of the pack P in FIGURE 2. Before it reaches this position, however, it will have been moved from belts 33 to belts 35. As the pack of sheets is moved onto belts 35 it will engage the upper belts 36, the lower stretches of which are traveling in the same direction as the upper stretches of belts 33 as indicated in FIGURES 2 and 3. At one end the loops of belts 36 are mounted on pulleys 37 driven by shaft 38 and at the other end the belt loops are carried by pulleys 39 which are mounted respectively on the swinging ends of arms 40 swingable about the axis of shaft 38.

The speed of belts 36 and 33 Will be synchronized so that they move at the same speed. As the leading edge of the veneer sheet pack P engages the lower stretches of belts 36, therefore, movement of the upper veneer sheet will not be accelerated or retarded, but the contact of belts 36 with it will simply assist in continuing the transport of the veneer sheet pack. The wedging action of the sheet pack moving into'the angle between the upper stretches of belts 33 and the lower stretches of belts 36 as seen in FIGURE 3 will efiect a wedging action which will swing arms 40 upward to allow the sheet pack to pass beneath pulleys 39 in the manner indicated in FIGURE 2. As the sheet pack passes beyond pulleys 39 to the position shown at the left of FIGURE 3, the arms 40 will swing downward again into the positions of that figure.

'When the jogged sheet pack is moved by belts 35 to the jointer 41 shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the sheet pack may be compacted as necessary by the lower stretches of belts 43 moving to the left in FIGURE 2 and then clamped with its jogged edge in engagement with appropriate locating stop means which are not part of the present invention. The cutter head carriage 42 of the jointer will then be reciprocated to the effect the jointing action on the jogged edge of the veneer pack. As the pack is being moved by belts 35 into the jointer the next pack of sheets will be in process of being moved by belts 4 from the rolls 3 to the jogger as indicated in FIGURE 3 and as described above. Moreover, during the jointing operation mentioned, the next pack of sheets will be in the process of being jogged in the manner shown in FIGURE 4 which has also been described. Upon completion of the jointing operation, the jointer clamp will be released substantially simultaneously with tilting of the sheet pack in the jogger from the position shown in FIGURE 4 to that of FIGURE 5.

During the movement of the next pack of sheets which have been jogged from the position of FIGURE 5 to that of FIGURE 6 by the belts 33, the driving mechanism for belts 35 will have been reversed so as to be moving to the right as indicated by the broken arrow in FIGURE 3. Such travel of belts 35 will withdraw the pack of sheets having one edge jointed from the jointer and such into the position at the right of FIGURE 3.

pack of sheets will continue to be moved to the right as seen in FIGURE 3 until its leading edge engages the upper stretches of belts 36. The upper stretches of belts 36 will be moving to the right as seen in FIGURE 3 at the same speed as the upper stretches of belts 35. Suitable stop means are provided to limit the downward swinging movement of arms 40 so that the leading edge of the pack will move up onto belts 36 and such travel will continue until the upper side of the sheet pack engages the lower stretches of belts 43.

Belts 43 are driven so that their speed of movement is equal to the speed of movement of the upper stretches of belts 36. Belts 43 extend around a driving drum or tube 44 adjacent to the jointer 41 and idler pulleys 45 carried by the ends of swinging tubular arms 46. These arms are interconnected and mounted for upward and downward swinging by the cross tube 47 shown in FIGURES l and 2. This tube is supported by arms 48 for limited upward and downward swinging. Since the weight of the arms 46 and pulleys 45 would exert a force on the leading edge of a sheet pack by the belts 43 greater than desirable, the arms 46 should be urged upward so as to limit the downward pressure of the belts. -Also, suitable stop means are provided to prevent downwardswinging of the arms below a lower limiting position.

As shown in FIGURES 2 and 10, lever arms 49 project upward from arms 49' connecting tube 44 with shaft 69 at one end and with a corresponding location on the machine frame at the other end. Compression springs 50 are interengaged between the upper ends of such arms 49 and a stationary backing 51. A guide rod may extend through each spring and a sleeve 52 pivoted on the swinging end of the arm 49. Such springs will exert a force on the ends of arms 49 producing a moment on tube 44 tending to swing the arms 46 upward and thus support the major part'of the weight of

tubes

44 and 47. Arms 46 are supported from shaft 53 by arms 54 which are connected to the individual arms 46 by links '55 as shown in FIGURE 2. Such linkage will produce an upward counter-balancing force on the arms 46 by a counterweight on arm 53' tending to effect rotation of shaft 53 in a direction to lift arms 46. Such counterweight will balance the major portion of the Weight of arms 46 and pulleys 45.

When a pack of sheets moves up the incline defined by belts 36 as indicated in FIGURE 3 so that its leading edge engages the lower stretches of belts 43, the arms 46 will be swung upward by the wedging force of the pack but the belts 43 will be pressed lightly against the upper side of the pack by the residual weight of the belt-carrying structure. Since both belts 36 and 43 are driven positively, they will cooperate to convey the pack of sheets up the incline by application of a driving force to both sides of the pack, accompanied by a pack compressing force, so that despite the rather steep slope of the incline formed by the upper stretches of belts 36 none of the sheets will slide edgewise out of the pack down the incline. When the trailing edge of the pack has passed beyond pulleys 45 the leading portion of the pack will be far enough up the slope so that it will tip the pack down into engagement with the belts 4.

Shortly after the pack of sheets having its trailing edge jointed in the manner described tilts downward onto belts 4 while they are maintained in the positions of FIG- URE 3 raised above the rolls 3, the pack will reach the position indicated in the upper portion of FIGURE 2 and belts 4 may continue to carry it from that position The arms 7 will stop the sheet pack in this position despite continued movement of belts 4 until the other pack of sheets at the lower left of FIGURES 2 and 3 has been moved fully into the jointer 41 to a position to be clamped in it. At that time the jointer clamp may be actuated to clamp the lower left pack for jointing and the actuator 8 may be'extended to rotate shaft 13 and swing arms 11 upward to theposition of FIGURE 4 for flipping into the jogger as shown in FIGURE 4 the sheet pack having one edge already jointed. r

The joggerwill then be operated to bring into registry the edges, of the sheets in the pack which are now lowermost. The upper jointed sheet edges will, of course, move out'of registry but this does not make any difference. When the jogging has been completed, the arms 7 will be swung downward from the positions of FIGURE 4 to those of'FIGU-RE and the sheet pack will be moved from the position of that figure through the position of FIGURES 6, 2 and 3 at the lower left into the jointer again in the manner described previously. The sheet pack will then have its other edge clamped and jointed, after which it will be removed from the jointer and conveyed up the upper stretches of belts 36 in the manner described. When the sheet pack reaches a position generally centrally of belts 4 and overlying rolls 3 approximately in the position indicated in the upper portion of FIGURE 2, the skids 5 can be lowered so that the sheet pack again will rest on the rolls 3.

Rolls

1, 2 and 3 will now be driven jointly by the chain 3' so as to discharge to the right as seen in FIGURE 1 the pack of sheets, both, edges'of which have been jointed, and simultaneously to feed from roll 1 into a position indicated by broken lines in FIGURE 1 and by solid lines in the upper portion of FIGURE 2 another pack of sheets to be edge jointed. The operation described will then be repeated. It will be evident that packs of sheets delivered into the broken line position of FIGURE 1 and upper solid line position of FIGURE 2 by belts 36 and 4 alternately will be moved on to the right as seen in FIGURE 3 and moved to the right onto rollers 2 as indicated in FIGURE 1. In the first instance, the pack of sheets will be re-jogged and moved to the jointer again to have its other edge jointed. In the second instance, the jointing operation on both edges will have been'completed and the pack will be discharged from the machine at the same time that a new pack of sheets is supplied to the machine.

In this operation, two packs of sheets will be processed simultaneously. One pack which will have one edge jogged to bring the edges of the sheets into registry will be moving from right to left as seen in FIGURES 2, 3, 5 and 6 along

belts

33 and 35 from the jogger to the jointer and the other pack having either its first or both edges jointed will be moving from left to right along belts '35, the upper stretches of belts 36 and belts 4 above the oppositely moving lower pack of sheets. When the sheet packs are not being transferred, one sheet pack will be in the process of being jogged and the other sheet pack will be in the process of having one of its edges jointed. It will be evident, therefore, that this machine efiects a very efficient and continuous jogging and jointing operation and that the sheets of a pack which have neither of their edges jointed when fed to the machine will be discharged from the machine with both of their edges jointed ready for edge-joining in a subsequent operation.

In FIGURES 9 and 10 the drive mechanism for the transport system is illustrated. All of the

belts

4, 33, 35, 36 and 43 are driven by a single electric motor 56. This motor drives chain 57 which in turn drives sprockets 58, '59 and 60. Rotation of sprocket 59 will drive shaft 38 and by it the belts 4 and 36 so that these belts move at the same linear speed.

Shaft 61, carrying pulleys 62 engaged by the right ends of belt loops 35, as seen in FIGURES 2, 3 and 10, extends parallel to shaft 38. Two drive sprockets 63 and 64 are secured to this shaft, the first for rotating the shaft to drive the upper stretches of belts 35 to the left as seen FIGURES 2 and 1-0 and the second to drive the shaft in the opposite direction for movement of the upper stretches of belts 35to the right as seen in these figures.

'8 In addition, this'shaft carries sprocket 65 which drives chain 66 engaged With

sprockets

67 and 68. v

Rotation of sprocket 68 turns shaft 69 for driving chain 70 to rotate sprocket 71 on shaft 72 of tube or drum 44. Since sprocket64-is mounted on shaft 61 it will be evident that the direction of movement of belts 43 will be reversed as the direction of rotation of shaft 61 is reversed. The connection of chain 66 between sprocket 65 and sprocket 68 is such that the adjacent stretches of

belts

35 and 43 will always move in the same direction. As the upper stretches of belts 35 are moving to the left in FIGURES 2, 3 and 10, the lower stretches of belts 43 also will be moving to the left. When a pack of veneer sheets is being moved into the jointer, therefore, usually the upper surface of the pack will be contacted lightly by the lower stretches of belts 43 both to compact the pack and to assist its movement into the jointer. Conversely, when the direction of movement of the upper stretches of belts 35 is reversed for withdrawing a pack of sheets from the jointer by reversing the direction of rotation of shaft 61, the left portions of the lower stretches of belts 43, again lightly engaged with the upper side of the sheet pack, will be moving to the right as seen in FIGURES 2, 3 and 10 at the same linear speed as the upper stretches of belts 35.

Reversible driving of shaft 61 is effected through the

sprockets

58 and 60. Sprocket 60 is secured on shaft 73 on which are also rotatively fixed pulleys 74 engaged with belts 33 to drive them. Since shaft 73 will be turned continuously in one direction, belts 33 will always be driven in the same direction. The size of pulleys 74 is selected relative to the size of sprocket 60, sprocket 59 and pulleys 37 so that the linear speed of belts 33 will be the same as that of

belts

4, 36 and 43.

Sprocket 58 is secured on shaft 75 and the

sprockets

58 and 60 are of equal size so that

shafts

73 and 75 will be turned at equal speeds but in opposite directions. On shaft 73 is loosely journaled a sprocket 76 and on shaft 75 is loosely journaled a sprocket 77. Sprocket 76 is connected to sprocket 63 on shaft 61 by chain 78 and sprocket 77 is connected to sprocket 64 on that shaft by chain 79. The sprockets 76 and '77 are equal in size and the sprockets 63 and 64 are of equal size.

Encircling

shafts

73 and 75, respectively, are clutches and 81. These clutches are alternatively operable but cannot :both be energized at the same time. When clutch 80 is energized while shaft 73 is being rotated by chain 57 and sprocket 60 in the counterclockwise direction as indicated in FIGURE 9, sprocket 76 will be locked to this shaft so that the upper stretch of chain 78 will be driven in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIGURE 10. The resulting rotation of sprocket 63 will turn shaft 61 in the direction to drive the upper stretches of belts 35 to the left for moving a pack of sheets from belts 33 to the jointer 41. Clutch 80 will be deenergized to stop shaft 61 and

belts

35 and 43 before the jointer clamp is closed.

When the jointing operation has been completed, clutch 81 will be energized. By such clutch energization sprocket 77 will be locked to shaft 75 rotated in the clockwise direction by chain '57 and sprocket 58 as indicated by the arrow in FIGURE 9. Sprocket 77 will drive the upper stretch of chain 79 in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIGURE 10, which will cause sprocket 64 to turn shaft 61 in the clockwise direction as seen in FIGURE 9 for driving the upper stretches of belts 35 to the right in FIGURES 9 and 10. Such movement of these belts, as previously explained, will move the pack of sheets from the jointer as seen at the left of FIGURE 3 to and onto the upper stretches of belts 36 as shown in broken lines in that figure. As soon as the pack of sheets has passed from this broken line position beyond belts 43, the clutch 81 can be deenergized and the clutch 80 energized to reverse the direction of travel t 9 of

belts

35 and 43 for the purpose of moving the next pack of sheets from belts 33 to the jointer.

While a pack of sheets is in the jointer, it is necessary that it be clamped tightly so that an accurate jointing operation can be performed. The upper stretches of belts 35 must, however, pass between the clamping elements of the jointer in order to be able to move a pack of sheets fully into the jointer before the jointing operation and reliably out of the jointer upon completion of the jointing operation. The supporting mechanism for the belts 35 cannot be located in a position which would interfere with the movement of a jointing head along the edge of the clamped sheet pack to be jointed. Consequently, the pulleys 82 around which the left portions of belts 35 extend are mounted in registry with the clamping mechanism of the jointer but in a manner so as not to interfere with the clamping action of the jointer clamp.

As shown in FIGURE 9 the upper stretches of belts 35 extend across the upper surface of the lower clamping member. Each pulley 82 is rotatively supported by a shaft 84 carried by the swinging end of a pulley mounting frame 85 pivotally supported to swing about a horizontal axis by pivot 86. Normally, the pulley supporting frame is urged upward into a limiting upper position by a compression spring 87 which is interengaged between the pulley supporting frame and a stationary spring mounting bracket 88. When there is no load on the belts 35, therefore, the spring 87 will hold the frame 85 up far enough so that the upper peripheral portion of pulley 82 will be substantially level with the upper surface of the lower clamp member.

When the jointer clamp is actuated to press a pack of veneer sheets firmly downward against the lower clamping member, such sheets simultaneously will press downward pulley 82 to whatever extent may be necessary to allow the sheet pack to be clamped tightly. The downward force exerted on the pulley 82 will simply swing frame 85 downward slightly about pivot 86 in opposition to the force of spring 87. When the clamp is released, the spring will return the pulley upward sufficiently so that the upper stretch of belt 35 moving to the right as seen in FIGURE 9 will press against the bottom of the sheet pack firmly enough to remove the sheet pack from the jointer despite friction between the pack and the lower clamping member. I

I claim as my invention:

1. In a jogging and jointing machine for sheets, jogging means engageable with the lower edges of sheets in up right planes for effecting registry of such lower sheet edges, jointing means engageable with the registered edges of the sheets for jointing such edges, first conveyor means movable substantially horizontally from said jogging means toward said jointing means for transporting jogged sheets, and second conveyor means engageable with jointed sheets for moving the same away from said-jointing means and toward said jogging means along a path offset vertically from said first conveyor means.

2. In a jogging and jointing machine for sheets, jogging means engageable with the lower edges of sheets in upright planes for effecting registry of such lower sheet edges, jointing means engageable with the registering edges of the sheets for jointing such edges, first conveyor means movable from said jogging means toward said jointing means for transporting jogged sheets, second conveyor means movable away from said jointing means and toward said jogging means for transporting jointed sheets, and reversible conveyor means engageable with sheets on said first conveyor means for moving the same therefrom to said jointing means and when reversed engageable with jointed sheets for moving the same from said jointing means to said second conveyor means.

3. In a jogging and jointing machine for sheets, jogging means engageable with the lower edges of sheets in up right planes for effecting registry of such lower sheet edges, jointing means engageable with the registering edges of the sheets for jointing such edges, lower conveyor means movable from said jogging means toward said jointing means for transporting jogged sheets, upper conveyor means movable away from said jointing means and toward said jogging means for transporting jointed sheets, and reversible conveyor means engageable with sheets on said lower conveyor means for moving the same therefrom to said jointing means and when reversed engageable with jointed sheets for moving the same from said jointing means to said upper conveyor means.

4.. In a jogging and jointing machine for sheets, jogging means engageable with the lower edges of sheets in upright planes for effecting registry of such lower sheet edges, jointing means engageable with the registered edges of the sheets for jointing such edges, first conveyor means including a first section movable from said jogging means toward said jointing means and a reversible section adjacent to said jointing means for transporting jogged sheets, and second conveyor means engageable with jointed sheets for moving the same away from said jointing means and toward said jogging means including an upper section movable along a path above said first section of said first conveyor means and an inclined section tiltable between a position inclined from said reversible section of said first conveyor means upward to said upper section of said second conveyor means and a position in which the lower end of said inclined conveyor means section is spaced above said first conveyor means to afford passage between said inclined conveyor means section and said first conveyor means for passage of sheets from said jogging means to said jointing means.

5. In a jogging machine for sheets, jogging means engageable with the lower edges of sheets in upright planes for effecting registry of such lower sheet edges, substantially horizontal sheet supply means alongside said jogging means, arms beneath said sheet supply means and swingably mounted adjacent to said jogging means, first actuating means connected to said arms and movable to swing said arms from their positions beneath said sheet supply means into upright positions for tilting sheets from said sheet supply means onto said jogging means, and second actuating means separate from said first actuating means, connected to said arms and movable for tilting such sheets from upright position down into substantially horizontal positions following jogging in side-for-side inverted positions.

6 In a jogging machine for sheets, jogging means supporting the lower edges of sheets which are disposed in upright planes, sheet supply means at one side of said jogging means engageable with sheets in substantially horizontal position and swingable to tilt such sheets into upright position on said jogging means, and means at the same side of said jogging means as said sheet supply means engageable with jogged sheets for moving them away from said jogging means in the direction opposite the direction in which they were moved into the jogging means.

I 7. A sheet jogger comprising jogging means, feed means operable to move a pack of sheets in substantially horizontal position to one side of said jogging means, stop means operable to arrest movement of such a pack of sheets moved by said feed means upon reaching said jogging means, pack tipping means operable to tip such a pack of sheets on edge for jogging of the sheet pack by said jogging means, and means operable to retract said stop means for removing the sheet pack from said jog-ging means.

8. In a jogging machine for sheets, jogging means in cluding support bars for supporting the lower edges of sheets which are disposed in upright planes, sheet supply means at one side of said jogging means engageable with sheets in substantially horizontal position and swingable to tilt such sheets into upright position on said support bars, actuating means connected to said support bars for tilting said bars at the completion of the jogging operation to tilt such sheets to the side of said jogging means op posite said sheet supply means,-and means atthe same side of said jogging means as said sheet supply means engageable with jogged sheets for moving them away from said jogging means in the direction opposite the direction in which they were moved into the jogging means.

9. A sheet jogger comprising jogging means, an arm, means swingably supporting said arm alongside said jogging means for swinging between an upright position confining sheets in substantially upright planes during jogging thereof by said jogging means and a downwardly swung position beneath the pack of sheets in substantially horizontal position following the jogging operation, said jogging means including a bar beneath the lower edges of sheets disposed substantially in upright planes for impact by the lower edges of such sheets during jogging and means mounting said bar for swinging movement conjointly with said arm from a substantially horizontal position into upright position, and actuating means connected to said bar for effecting movement thereof from upright position to a location below the downwardly tilted pack of sheets.

10. A sheet jogger comprising jogging means, an arm, means swingably supporting said arm alongside said jogging means for swinging between an upright position confining sheets on said jogging means during jogging thereof and a lowered position for lowering a pack of sheets from upright position on said jogging means, holddown means, and means at the side of said jogging means opposite said arm swingably supporting said hold-down means for swinging conjointly with said arm when swing.- ing downward and in the same direction to hold the pack of sheets against said arm during downward swinging thereof. 7

11. In a jogging machine for sheets, jogging means engageable with the lower edges of sheets in upright planes for effecting registry of such lower sheet edges, two arms pivoted respectively along opposite sides of said jogging means for confining sheets therebetween on said jogging means during jogging thereof, first actuating means connected to a first arm at one side of said jogging means for swinging such arm from an upright position confining sheets on said jogging means during jogging to a lowered position in which its upper end is swung away from said jogging means, and second actuating means connected to a second arm at the other side of said jogging means for swinging such arm from a lowered position in which the upper end of such arm is swung away from said jogging means into an upright position to tilt sheets into upright planes on said jogging means and to confine sheets on said jogging means during jogging, and through such upright position into a lowered position in which the upper end of such arm is disposed at the opposite side of said jogging means on which the upper end of said first arm is disposed in low ered position.

12. In a jogging machine for sheets, jogging means engageable with the lower edges of sheets in upright planes for eflecting registry of such lower sheet edges, two arms pivoted respectively along opposite sides of said 12 jogging means for confining sheets there-between on said jogging means during jogging thereof, first actuating means connected to a first arm at one side of said jogging means for swinging such arm from an upright position confining sheets on said jogging means during jogging to a lowered position in which its upper end is swung away from said jogging means, second actuating means operatively connected to a second arm at the other side of said jogging means for swinging such arm from a low ered position in which the upper end of such arm is swung away from said jogging means into an upright position to tilt sheets into upright planes on said jogging means and to confine sheets on said jogging means during jogging, and third actuating means operable separately from said second actuating means and operatively connected to such second arm to swing it from such upright position into a lowered position in which the upper end of such arm is disposed at the opposite side of said jogging means on which the upper end of said first arm is disposed in lowered position.

13. In a jointing machine for sheets, jointing means engageable with the registered edges of sheets in a sheet pack for jointing such edges, reversible conveyor means adjacent to one side of said jointing means for transporting such sheet pack to said jointing means when moving in one direction and for removing such sheet pack from the same side of said jointing means when moving in the opposite direction, and upper conveyor means engageable with the upper sheet of such sheet pack and movable away from said jointing means at substantially the same speed as said reversible conveyor means.

14. In a jointing machine'for sheets, jointing means engageable with the registered edges of sheets in a sheet pack for jointing such edges, reversible conveyor means adjacent to one side of said jointing means for transporting such sheet pack to said jointing means when moving in one direction and for removing such sheet pack from the same side of said jointing means when moving in the opposite direction, conveyor means inclined upwardly from said reversible conveyor means away from said jointing means, upper conveyor means engageable with the upper sheet of such sheet pack and movable away from said jointing means at substantially the same speed as said reversible conveyor means, and means supporting said upper conveyor means for upward and downward movement to vary the spacing between said upwardly' inclined conveyor means and said upper conveyor means to accommodate therebetween packs of sheets of difierent thickness.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS