US461323A - Lumber-piling machine - Google Patents

Description

- (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet l.'

l H. DANIELS.

LUMBBR :FILING MACHINE.

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H DANIBLS LUMBBR FILING MACHINE.

110.461,323. Patented Oct. 13,1891.

(No Model.)

4 Sheets- Sheet 3.. H. DNIELS. LUMBB'R FILING MAGHINL 110.461,323. Patented Oct. 13,1891.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(No Model.)

H DANIELS LUMBBR PILING MACHINE.

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' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOIVARD DANIELS, OF GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- l HALF TO JAMES II. SIMONSON, OF FORT IVAYN E, INDIANA.

'LuMBER-PlLiNG MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 461,323, dated October 13, 1891.

Application filed April 9, 1891. Serial No. 388,332. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HOWARD DANIELs, of Greenville, in the county of Greenville and State of South Carolina, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Lumber-Filing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved machine for piling lumber on cars, preparatory xo to being dried in a kiln or otherwise.

rlhe object of my invention is to construct.

a machine which shall quickly and evenly pile the lumber, depositing the separatingstrips in a uniform manner, the machine rex5 quiring the attendance of a single operator to accomplish these results.

XVith this -obj ect in view my invention consists in the peculiar construction of the several parts, their novel combination or arrangezo ment, all of which will be more fully hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings forming a part of this speciiication, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved machine. Fig. 2 is a top plan view.

Fig. 3 is a top view of the strip-holding box. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 5 is a view of the gear-operating mechanism. Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the gearing. Fig. 7 is a detail View of the lumber-hook-op- 3o erating mechanism somewhat modified. Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of the modified form of hook.

In carrying out my invention I employ a main frame A, composed of the four uprights a, properly connected and braced at their upper and lower ends, and near the bottom of said frame are arranged the tracks a', upon which the lumber-car is adapted-to travel. The main frame A is essentially rectangular 4o in shape, and surrounding the same is a vertically-movable rectangular frame B, said frame having wheels b journaled near the corners of the same, which wheels are arranged Within the frame and adapted to travel upon the tracks b', secured to the opposite 1nner sides of the four uprights. The movable frame B is thus adapted to be moved upon the main frame, and in order to operate said movable frame I employ the vertical threaded 5o rods O, which work through the nuts C', said nuts being arranged in timbers C2, rigidly secured to the opposite ends of the movable frame and forming a part thereof. The upper ends of the threaded shafts are journaled in the opposite upper cross-beams, the lower ends being journaled in cross-beams a2, arranged near the bottom of the main frame and below the tracks 0.. A horizontal gear C3 is mounted upon the lower end of each threaded shaft, said gears meshing with the 6o vertical gears O4, mounted upon the ends of the horizontal shaft D, journaled in the bottom cross-beams of the main frame. The horizontal shaft D is divided near one end of the same, and upon the opposing ends of the divided portions are secured the collars D', the free ends of said collars being formed with' a feathergroove d, and between the collars D is interposed a shaft D2, the ends of said shaft working in the collars D', the feather 7o or spline d sliding in the groove d, whereby the shaft D2 will rotate with'the divided portions of the shaft D, but have a longitudinal movement between the same.

Gear-wheels D3 and D4 are mounted upon 75 4the shaft D2 near the ends of the same, and

between the said gears D3 and D4 is arranged a gear E, said gear E being mounted upon the end of a shaft E', arranged at right angles to the shafts D and D2. The shaft E is 8o revolved by meanshereinafter described, and

as the gear E revolves the gears D3 and D4 are brought alternately into mesh with the same by moving the shaft D2 longitudinally in the collars D', and in order to operate the 85 said shaft I employ a yoke F, arranged between the gears D3 and D4, the shaft D2 turning loosely in the members of the same. A pitman-rod F is attached to the bow of the yoke, the opposite end of the rod being con- 9o nected to an arm of an elbow-lever F2, pivoted upon one of the cross-beams a2, and connected with the said elbow-lever is a handrod F3, said rod extending upward upon the exterior of the movable frame, its upper end being slidably attached to the upper portion of the main frame.

A platform G is secured to the lower portion of the movable frame adjacent to the hand-rod F2, the operator standing on this roo platform to regulate the operations of the machine. It will now be seen that the handrod is within easy reach of the operator and by moving the same up or down the gear D3 or D4 will be thrown into mesh with the wheel E, thus revolving the shafts D and D2, the gears C3 and C4 and the screw C elevating or lowering the movable frame according to the direction the screw is turned, and it will of course be understood that the hand-rod may be moved and held at an intermediate position,when neither of the gears D3 nor D4 will 'mesh with wheel E and the movable frame or carriage will remain stationary. A

A horizontal rectangular frame A is arranged upon one side of the main frame, the shaft E being journaled in the lower timbers of said frame, and 'upon the outer end of this shaft is mounted a gear E2. A horizontal shaft H is also journaled in the bottom timbers of the frame A near the outer end of the same, said shaft being arranged at right anglesl to the shaft E',and upon its outer endis-provided with a drive-pulley g. A gear H is also y mounted upon the shaft H, said gear meshing with the wheel E2 and revolving the shaft E', which operates to raise and lower the carriage. The shaft H is provided also with a sprocketwheel H`f2 intermediate its ends. A shaft I is arranged above the shaft H and parallel with the same, said shaft I being supported the proper distance from shaft H by means of the rods J J, said rods having j ournal-boxesj j at their ends, in which the shafts H and I revolve. The shaft I is also provided with a sprocket-wheel H3, a belt H4 connecting the Wheels H2 and H3 and transmitting motion from the shaft H to the shaft I.

A horizontal shaft K is journaled at the side of the movable frame or carriage adjacent to the horizontal frame A', and upon the said shaft are mounted the sprocket-wheels 7c lc. Similar wheels t' i are mounted upon the shaft I in alignment with the wheels 7c la, and over said wheels are passed the chain belts L, said belts running in grooved timbers L', which connect the shafts I and K. The belts L are provided with cleats Z, which catch the boards as they are deposited and carry them to the movable frame where they are deposited upon the drier-car in a manner hereinafter described, and it will be seen that as the movable frame, moves upward the shaft I will be moved inward toward the main frame, thus permitting the inner end of the belt to be moved upwardwith the frame or carriage. The timbers L support the Weight of the boards, thus preventing breakage of the belt.

Brackets or supports. Z are attached to the movable frame adjacent to the sprocketwheels lc 7c, said supports projecting inwardly and adapted to receive the boards as they are transferred from the belt preparatory to being deposited upon the car, and the heights of the supports are such that their upper faces are flush with the upper face of the car or layer of lumber held thereon.

Above the shaft K is journaled a shaft M,

Asaid shaft M carrying a pinion 'In -upon one end, which meshes with a gear m', mounted upon the end of the shaft K. The shaft M is divided near the pinion m, and is provided at that point with any preferred form of clutch mechanism, by means of which the major portion of the shaft M may be thrown in and out of operation. Sprocket-wheels m2 are mounted upon the shaft M between the sprockets 7c 7c. A shaft N is journaled upon the opposite side of the. movable frame .in

horizontal alignment with the shaft M, said shaft N having sprockets n n mounted thereada ted to encrage sto s o3 arranged-in the b C? 3 b upperportion of the movable frame, the purposes of which will appear further on. A

hand-lever m4 is connected with the clutch mechanism and extends within reach of the operator standing upon the platform.

The machine being in operation and lumber being placed upon the feed-belt, the boards will be carried up and deposited upon the brackets or supports, one of the boards being pushed under the lumber-hooks. The clutch mechanism is now out of gear and the stopso2 and o3 are in engagement with each other, the cord and Weight operating to eect this result. The lumber-hooks are by this means forced over the brackets and by throwing the clutch into gear Athe sprockets m2 are caused to revolve, moving the lumber-hooks away from the supports and over the car, and

as the hooks engage a board it is carried back from the supports and deposited upon the car in any particular place, the cord carrying the IIO weight having been wound upon the drum as catch another board, and bythrowing the clutch in, this board is carried back and placed upon the car. These operations are continued until one layer of boards is placed upon the car, when the operator works the hand-rod, revolving the screws, and elevating the movable frame, readyafor the next layer of boards. Before this layer is deposited, however, it is necessary to place a series of spacing-strips upon the layer previously laid. These strips I prefer to place by machine, as it can be done much more easily and accurately. In order to place the spacing-strips by machine I arrange the said strips in boxes P, any desired number of boxes being used, which boxes are suspended at aV suitable height Within the movable frame or carriage.

The boxes P are bottomless, and upononeI side of each box, near its lower ends, are -journaled casting-piecesp, each casting-piece having an outwardly horizontally-projecting lug p formed thereon. A curved spring-arm p2 is `secured to each casting-piece below the lug p', one end of said arm having a downwardly-curved lfingerp3 attached thereto, said the said end to bear against the next loweststrip held Within the box. The lugs p are connected by a pitman Q, said pit-man having a link-rod Q attached thereto, and upon the side of the movable frame is pivoted a rock-shaft R, having lever-arms R', to which the link-rods Q are attached. A lever S is attached to the end of the rock-shaft, said lever being connected with a treadle S', and con-i nected with said treadle is a weighted lever S2. By depressing the treadleS the lever S is operated, rocking the shaft P, and by working the i lever-arms R', link-rod Q, and pitman Q the spring-arms p2 are operated, throwing the lingers out from beneath the lowest strip and binding the opposite end of the spring-arm against the next lowest, holding said strip in the box until the fingers are again placed beneath the box, ready to catch the strip as it drops when the bindin g-end is released. 'The moment the treadle is released of the pressure the weighted lever will throw the parts to their normal positions. As the treadle is operated by foot', the strips may b e deposited While the carriage isbeing raised.

In order to deposit the strips with accuracy I employ guides T, attached to the lower corners of the box, the guides at the end adjacent to the brackets or supports being pivoted to allow the boards to pass under, while at the opposite end a swinging guide is pivoted to the rigid piece extending below the top of the car. This pivoted guide hangs in a vertical posit-ion until the first board of the course is placed. Placing the board swings it out of vertical. The weight of board then holds that end of the strip.

By means of the guides T, I am enabled to deposit the separating-strips exactly in vertical alignment with the strips previously laid.

The machine can be regulatedto suit the capacity of the millby increasing or decreasing the number of lugs on the feed-chain.

In the drawings I have shown a construction by means of which an entire layer of boards may be deposited upon the car at one time, and also aconstruction which prevents the chain sagging as it moves back and forth over the car. y

Referring to the drawings, W indicates iron bars bent upon themselves at w and secured at their ends to the movable frame B, as clearly shown, the lower portion of said rods extending entirely across the movable frame, and upon said lower portions are supported the hangers O4, which are connected with the chain belts 0, and by this means the chain is prevented sagging as it moves back and forth over the car. .Parallel bars W are pivoted to the chain belts in the same maner as the lumber-hooks, said bars extending out beyond the movable frame and are curved upwardly at their forward ends to pass freely over the boards held upon the conveyer-belt.V A series of dogs w are pivoted to the bars W', said dogs being adapted to engage the boards, and above each dog the bars are formed with flanges wz, against whichthe upper ends of the dogs engage when bound against the boards. The forward ends of the bars W extend above the lower portions of the rods WV, and carry at their said ends pins which play upon the said rods, thus guiding the bars in their lreciprocation. The end of the shaft N adjacent to the operator is extended beyond the movable frame B and upon said end is mounted a wheel N and pivoted to the side of the said movable frame is a brake-lever N2, which is held upon the wheel N by means of the cord N3 and weight N4. The weight N4 is of such size that it will prevent the weight n3 unwinding the cord from the drum n', so that when the clutch used in moving the hooks is released belts will not be drawn back but remain stationary. The weight required at N4 is not heavy and hangs in reach of the operator as he stands on the operating-platform, and when it is desired to run the hooks backward a slight force applied under the weight N4 with the handwill allow them to do so.

The manner of operation is as follows: The

bars W4 being in operation, so that the stops O2 and O3 are in contact and the first pivoted dog (counting from the right) is over the place of delivery on the receiving-brackets, the feed-chains shove the board along under all the dogs and in front of the first one. The clutch mechanism being applied, the bars are drawn toward the car far enough for the second dog to receive the second board, and the brake N2 holds them in that position. When the second board has been received, they are moved forward to receive the third, and so on IOO until the bars are full, when the whole course is drawn onto the car; The operator now lifts the weight and the hooks go back for another course. While the course is being collected the frame B can be raised and the separating-strips placed ready to receive it by the time is is ready to be placed onto the car.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new isi l. The combination, with the main frame A and horizontal frame A', of the verticallymovable frame or carriage, the shaft K, journaled at the side of the said frame or carriage, the shaft I, having bearings pivotally connected with the frame A', the belt L, and gearing devices for operating the said belt and the movable frame or carriage, substantially as shown anddescribed.

2. The combination, with a shaft mounted in pivotal bearings, of a vertically-movable frame, a shaft mounted thereon, an endless belt connecting the shafts, and grooved timbers also connecting the shafts and in which the belt runs, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, with a main frame adapted to receive a car, of a vertically-mov-- able frame adapted to travel on the main frame,` the supports thereon adapted to receive the lumber, and a raking device on the movable frame adapted to. rake the boards off the supports and place them upon lthe car, substantially as shown and described.

4. The combination, with a main frame adapted to receive a car, of 'a support adapted to receive the boards preparatory to being deposited upon the car, a chain carrying lumber-hooks adapted to be moved back and forth over the supports and car, and means for operating the chain, substantially as shown and I described.

6. The combination,with the vertically-movable frame, ot the guide-rods secured thereto, the chain belts, and the hangers connecting the chain belt and guide, substantially as shown and described. p

7. The co1nbination,with the vertically-movable fra-me, of the belts mounted thereon, the parallel bars secured to said belts, the series of dogs pivoted to the said bars', andthe flanges arranged above the said dogs, substantially as shown and described.

8. The combination, with the movable frame, of the chain belts,guiderods, hangers, parallel bars, dogs pivoted thereto, and the flanges, all arranged substantially as shown and described.

9. The combination, with the bottomless box, of the castlng-pieces pivoted near the lower ends of the saine, the spring-arms attached to the casting-pieces, one end of said arm carrying a finger adapted to extend beneath .the box and the other end adapted to engage a strip, a pitman connecting the casting-pieces, and means for operating the pitman, substantially as shown and described.

IIOVVARD DANIELS.

Witnesses: Y THos. L. WooDsIDE,

GEO. B. THRUsToN.

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