US3019824A

US3019824A - Knot removing machine

Info

Publication number: US3019824A
Application number: US3762A
Authority: US
Inventors: Brownie S Bakke
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1960-01-21
Filing date: 1960-01-21
Publication date: 1962-02-06
Anticipated expiration: 1979-02-06

Description

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 21, 1960 ml n f I- HU D LLL m W... M L-W E Imm( II f WW V m IIL L Brownie Bakke- Man. BY im n vw mw n Feb. 6, 1962 B. s. BAKKE KNo'r REMOVING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 21, 1960 .ll\llllllll\ llllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Brown/e 5. Bak/re l N VEN TOR.

ilnited States This invention relates to a machine for removing knots from veneer panels and more particularly to a machine for removing loose knots from veneer as it leaves the dryer.

An object of the invention is to provide a machine for removing loose knots from veneer. It is quite desirable to remove these loose knots in a Veneer processing procedure since the ultimate benefits are the elimination of dryer lires and the necessity of cleaning the dryers so frequently.

Briefly, the invention is embodied in a machine to receive veneer as it leaves the dryer and convey the veneer on a special conveyor having space in the lower flight thereof to enable loose knots to fall therethrough for ultimate conveyance to the same hog used by the knot machine. As the veneer is propelled by the conveyor, special finger-rolls, preferably having hard rubber fingers or the like thereon, engage one surface of the veneer to tap out loose knots and have'them drop onto or into a pan beneath the lower flight of the special conveyor.

Accordingly, another object of the invention is to provide a machine for removing loose knots from veneer, the machine having a conveyor for propulsion of the veneer, together with means constituting a part of the machine for knocking out the loose knots and having them drop onto a pan which directs the knots to constrain .the travel thereof whereby they may be easily collected, for instance in the same hog used by the knot machine.

arent These together with other objects and advantages which FIGURE 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE .4.is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing the construction of a part of one of the knot removing rolls.

In the accompanying drawings there is a diagrammatic illustration of a dryer 10 from which Veneer panels 12 move. The dryer liti is conventional, as are panels 12, and ordinarily, the panels 12 are taken from machine 10 for further processing of the veneer panels.

The machine 14 is interposed in the production line at the discharge end of dryer 10, and the purpose of machine 14 is to remove loose knots, for instance knot 13 (FIGURE 5) from panels 12.

Machine 14 is composed of frame 16 having a plurality of upright legs 18, and a pair of

inclined sides

20 and 22 for conveyor 24.

Sides

22 and 24 are spaced apart to form the sides of the conveyor with the flight thereof` located between the sides. rlhe flight of the conveyor is of special construction in that it is formed of a plurality of

groups

3u, 32 and 34 of endless belts which are laterally spaced from each other i.e., the belts in each group. Further, the belts of the groups are longitudinally staggered (FIGURE 2) thereby leaving spaces between the belts and a staggered arrangement to allow the knots 13 to fall through the spaces.

Group 30 of belts is entrained over groups 36 and 38 of rollers on

rollers shafts

39 and 40 carried by bearings attached to the sides 20- and 22. Rollers 38 on shaft 40 are sufficient in number to support the belts of group 32, and shaft 44 having rollers similar to rollers 38, supports the opposite ends of the belts in group 32. Shaft 44 and its rollers also support one end of the belts of group 34, while shaft 46 at the opposite ends thereof furnishes the support for the opposite ends of the belts of group 34.

Shafts

39, 40, 44 and 46 are coupled together for uniformity of rotation by means of a belt and pulley drive 48 (FIGURES l and 2) with the belts and pulleys engaged with the shafts and with a source 50 of power, for instance an electric motor. The belting including double pulleys when necessary is a conventional type of drive.

The upper flight of the conveyor is established by a plurality of rolls which are driven by belt and pulley transmission or drive 54 at the opposite side of the machine from that having the belt pulley drive 48. There are two spaced

propulsion rolls

56 and 58, FIGURES 2-4, extending transversely across and spaced between

sides

20 and 22 and located above the belts of

groups

32 and 34. The propulsion rolls are preferably rubber coated or covered and have their peripheries adjacent to the upper surfaces of the belts in the

groups

32 and 34. The veneer panel 12 is gripped between the propulsion rolls and the live belts of the endless conveyor to propel them from theinlet end of the conveyor to the platform 60 at the discharge end of the conveyor and located between

sides

28 and 22.

Transverse

rotary brushes

62 and 64 are also driven by the belt and pulley transmission 54, and they, too, extend across the space between

sides

28 and 22. The brushes wipe across the upper surfaces of the veneer panels 12 as the panels are conveyed.

The knot remover or

finger rolls

68 and 70 are of identical construction. These rolls, just as

rolls

56,58, 62 and 64 are mounted for rotation in bearings carried by the

sides

20 and 22, and have pulleys at one end thereof constituting a part of the drive 54. Roll 70 is shown in detail in FIGURE 5 and consists of a rotaryshaft 72 having a plurality of hydraulic, radially extending lingers 74 carried thereby. The fingers flex slightly when they contact the top surface of veneer panel 12, but when a knot 13 is engaged by one lor more of the fingers, there is enough stiffness in the finger 74 to push the loose knots, for instance loose knot 13 from the veneer panel 12. Tightly held knots are not removed.

When the knots are removed, they are dropped through the spaces between the belts of

groups

32 or 34 and fall on an upwardly opening pan or tray Sti having an open lower end 82. The tray is carried by the legs 18 and extends essentially the full length of the endless conveyor. The upper portion of the tray is mounted on a transverse shaft 84 with which it is pivotally connected, for instance by bearings 86 which are secured to the lower part or bottom of the tray. The lower end of the tray is articulated by being secured to a crankshaft 88, for example by bearing 98 (FIGURE 4). It is to be understood at this point that both ends or support points for the tray 89 may be connected to legs 18 by means of crankshafts identical to crankshaft 88 or alternatively, only the lower end thereof. This is merely an option depending on the nature of the vibratory action desired.

In either case, both of the

shafts

84 and 86 are mounted for rotation in bearings carried by pairs of legs 18, and at least one of the shafts, e.g. shaft 88, is a driven shaft. Motor 92 having a belt drive 94 connected therewith and with a pulley on shaft 88, diagrammatically represents 3 one particular mechanical drive for vibrating the tray S by rotation of crankshaft 88.

A transverse conveyor 96 which is of conventional construction, is located beneath the discharge end 82 of the tray Sil to collect the knots which are propelled down tray 8G by the vibratory motion imparted to the tray. Conveyor 96 may lead to the same hog used by the knot machine and dryer.

The foreging is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modiications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

l. A knot removing machine comprising a frame, a conveyor adapted to receive veneer panels and carried by said frame, said conveyor having a lower Hight with spaces therebetween through which loose knots are adapted to fall, and means including a roll having a plurality of iingers located above said lower flight for pushing loose knots from the veneer panels as they are propelled by the lower Hight of said conveyor, said means further including a brush extending transversely across the lower flight of the conveyor, said lower Hight of the conveyor having at least two groups of belts arranged in tandem with the belts of one group transversely staggered with reference to the belt of the other group thereby leaving staggered spaces in the lower Hight through which the knots may be ejected.

2. The subject matter of claim 1 wherein there is a collection tray beneath said lower Hight, and means for vibrating said collection tray to propel the knots.

3. In a machine to remove loose knots from veneer panels, a frame adapted to be positioned at the discharge end of a dryer, a conveyor carried by said frame and having a lower Hight on which the panels are adapted to be received from the dryer, said lower Hight having spaces therein through which the knots are adapted to be projected, an upper Hight constituting a part of the conveyor and located above said lower Hight, said upper Hight including a plurality of transverse rolls having resilient fingers extending radially therefrom and constituting punches by which to press loose knots from and through the panels as they are propelled between said lower Hight and said rolls, at least one brush extending transversely across the lower Hight of the conveyor and adapted to brush the top surface of the panels as they are propelled by said lower Hight, and means beneath said lower Hight for collecting the knots which are projected from the panels.

4. In a machine to remove loose knots from veneer panels, a frame adapted to be positioned at the discharge end of a dryer, a conveyor carried by said frame and having a lower Hight on which the panels are adapted to be received from the dryer, said lower flight having spaces therein through which the knots are adapted to be projected, an upper flight constituting a part of the conveyor and located above said lower Hight, said upper Hight including a plurality of transverse rolls having resilient fingers extending therefrom and constituting punches by which to press loose knots from the panels as they are propelled between said lower ihght and said rolls, said lower flight composed of a plurality of groups of belts arranged in tandem, and the belts of one group being staggered transversely with reference to the belts of the next adjacent group thereby leaving staggered spaces along the length of the lower Hight of the conveyor through which the knots may be projected.

5. in a machine to remove loose knots from veneer panels, a frame adapted to be positioned at the discharge end of a dryer, a conveyor carried by said frame and having a lower Hight on which the panels are adapted to be received from the dryer, said lower Hight having spaces therein through which the knots are adapted to be projected, an upper Hight constituting a part of the conveyor and located above said lower flight, said upper Hight including a plurality of transverse rolls having resilient ngers extending therefrom and constituting punches by which to press loose knots from the panels as they are propelled between said lower Hight and said rollers, said lower Hight composed of a plurality of groups of belts arranged in tandem, and the belts of one group being staggered transversely with reference to the belts of the next adjacent group thereby leaving staggered spaces along the length of the lower Hight of the conveyor through which the knots may be projected, and means to collect the knots which fall through said spaces.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 622,432 Ahnon Apr. 4, 1899 1,670,723 Hummel May 22, 1928 1,744,473 Hultberg Jan. 21, 1930 1,816,329 Johnston July 28, 19,31 2,489,386 Reitz Nov. 29, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 159,463 Switzerland Mar. 16, 1933