Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G57/00—Stacking of articles
  • B65G57/30—Stacking of articles by adding to the bottom of the stack
  • B65G57/301—Stacking of articles by adding to the bottom of the stack by means of reciprocatory or oscillatory lifting and holding or gripping devices
  • B65G57/303—Stacking of articles by adding to the bottom of the stack by means of reciprocatory or oscillatory lifting and holding or gripping devices the stack being lowered by mobile grippers or holders onto added articles

Definitions

• the present invention relates to an apparatus for stacking pulp bales into piles constituted by at least two bales, said apparatus comprising: conveyor means for carrying bales to a stacking position in the stacking apparatus and for advancing the stacks of bales from the stacking apparatus; stop means for stopping the bales arriving in the stacking apparatus at the stacking position; upright frame elements present on the opposite sides of the conveyor means, said stacking position being located in a space therebetween; and lifting elements for bales associated with the frame elements.
• the invention relates also to a method for stacking pulp bales into piles constituted by at least two bales in a stacking process effected from below, said method comprising carrying bales one by one by conveyor means to a stacking position and stopping the same thereat, whereafter the bale is lifted up for allowing a transfer of the following bale to below the preceding one and then the preceding bale is lowered on top of the following one.
• top-stacking solutions have remained insufficient in terms of capacity, requiring a comparatively long cycle time per bale.
• FI patent 77431 One such top-stacking solution is disclosed in FI patent 77431 , wherein a first bale is driven to a stacking position, at which it is stopped, and the following bales are lifted on top of the first bale one by one.
• bottom-stacking solution has proved to be most effective in terms of capacity due to the minimization of required action cycles.
• One such bottom- stacking solution is disclosed in FI patent 64112, wherein a bale is driven past a stop at the stacking position and the conveyor is stopped and switched for a reverse action for driving the bale by its trailing end against the stop.
• An object of the present invention is to provide a bottom-stacking solution, which is relatively simple in terms of its construction and which is capable of minimizing moments applied to the apparatus and foundation and in which the stacking of various bale sizes is conveniently feasible. Another object is to provide a solution, wherein the forces applied to a bale are comparatively insignificant and which solution does not require a major compression along the sides of a bale. Yet another essential object of the invention is to provide a high-capacity solution, capable of stacking, e.g. in the order of about 300 to about 400 bales per hour.
• an apparatus of the invention is characterized in that the frame elements are adapted to be moved to the proximity of or against the side face of a bale.
• a method of the invention is characterized in that the method involves the use of a stacking apparatus for pulp bales, comprising upright frame elements on the opposite sides of conveyor means, which are moved in a linear action to the proximity or against the side face of a bale, and which frame elements include lifting elements movable along the frame elements in a substantially vertical direction, said lifting elements being provided with pick-up claws which are adapted, by means of a linear action of the frame elements and/or an independent, bale-approaching linear action of the pick-up claws, to extend within the range of the lateral margin of a bale underneath the bale, and this is followed by moving the pick-up claws by means of an upward action of the lifting means against the bottom surface of the bale and the bale is lifted upon the pick-up claws to a necessary height for allowing a transfer of the following
• fig. 1 shows one bottom-stacking apparatus of the prior art
• fig. 2 shows one embodiment for an apparatus of the invention in a schematic side view
• fig. 3 shows a portion of the apparatus of fig. 2 in a plan view.
• the prior art solution shown in fig. 1 comprises a conveyor 1 carrying bales to be stacked past a descendable stop 2, whereafter the conveyor is reversed and the bale to be stacked is driven against the raised stop 2.
• this stacking apparatus includes a frame element 8 fitted with a lifting fork mechanism 9.
• This lifting fork mechanism comprises a carriage 10, which is movable on one side of the frame within a sleeve 22 by means of a hydraulic cylinder 11 along guides 12.
• the carriage 10 supports a lifting fork 13 for bales by means of a crossbar 25, which is vertically ascendable and descendable by means of a hydraulic cylinder 14.
• the action is controlled on one side of the crossbar 25 by means of a sleeve 26 running along a guide 27, and on the other side by means of a roller 28 running in a guide 29.
• the frame 8 is further provided with vertical retainer bars 15 mounted directly above the stop 2. These retainer bars 15 are intended to support a bale stack as it is being erected and to enable a withdrawal of the lifting fork 13 from a bale. In order to lift a bale reversed against the stop 2 at the stacking position, the lifting fork 13 is descended to its rear bottom position to the level of the conveyor 1 and brought to its foremost bottom position below the bale and ascended to its foremost top position for picking up the bale at the same time.
• FIGs. 2 and 3 depict one exemplary embodiment of the invention, comprising upright frame elements 1 , fitted on the opposite sides of a conveyor 9 and having the ends thereof parallel to the track provided with vertical guides 10, along which is adapted to run a lifting carriage 4 supported by guide rollers 11 travelling along the guide 10.
• the lifting carriage 4 has its bottom edge provided with pickup claws 6 at either end of the lifting carriage in the travelling direction of the bales.
• the upright frame elements 1 are adapted to travel in a linear motion upon a guide 2 towards and away from a bale present at the stacking position by means of a hydraulic cylinder 3.
• the stacking apparatus is preferably mounted upon a bed plate 8 and further provided with a support element 7 for providing a support moment to prevent the apparatus from tilting.
• a first bale 12a is set by means of a stop means (not shown) at a stacking position established in a space between the frame elements 1 , the design of said stop means being prior known to a skilled person.
• the stop means can be mechanical or a mechanical stop means can also be provided or replaced with an electronic bale position detection assembly, which is used for controlling the conveyor 9 for guiding and stopping a bale to the stacking position. This is followed by moving the frame elements 1 linearly towards the side faces of the bale 12a for bringing press plates 5 included in the apparatus lightly against the opposite side faces of the bale.
• the pick-up claws 6 move at the same time towards the bale and extend below the bale within a lateral margin of the bale.
• the pick-up claws 6 can be mounted on the carriage 4 for a movement also in a horizontal direction so as to be extensible by means of an independent, bale-approaching linear motion to below the bale within a lateral margin of the bale.
• the lifting carriage 4 is ascended by means of cylinders (not shown) along the guide 10
• the pick-up claws 6 move first against the bottom surface of the bale and then bring the bale upwards with themselves.
• the press plates 5 constitute sliding surfaces, along which the bales are capable of sliding as the pick-up claws 6 are lifted against the bottom surface of the bales.
• the press plates 5 travel along with the lifting carriage 4 and remain substantially immobile relative to the bale.
• the lifting carriage 4 has ascended to such a height that another bale 12b has enough space to move on the conveyor to below the previously uplifted bale 12a, the lifting action is stopped and the fresh bale is delivered to the stacking position, followed by lowering the previously uplifted bale 12a on top of the fresh bale 12b.
• the frame elements 1 are driven away from the bale such that the pick-up claws placed between the bales come out along with the lifting carriage. This is followed by driving the lifting carriages to a bottom position, and the above-described action cycles are repeated by next lifting up the bales 12a, 12b together and by delivering a bale 12c therebelow. The action cycles are repeated until a desired number of bales are stacked on top of each other.
• the linear action of the frame elements 1 along the guide 2 and, respectively, the motion of the lifting carriages 4 along the guides 10 are performed in synchronization with each other.
• One major benefit gained by the invention is a solution implemented by relatively simple linear actions, whereby the number of actions can be minimized and, thus, the capacity can be increased.
• the conveyor present in the stacking apparatus can be made relatively short.
• the apparatus of the invention can be associated with a bale aligning device, mounted for example on a feed conveyor preceding the conveyor of a stacking apparatus, for effecting the alignment in a manner most beneficial in terms of the capacity of the stacking apparatus.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Stacking Of Articles And Auxiliary Devices (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=8552291

Family Applications (1)

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Cited By (3)

Families Citing this family (1)

Citations (4)

• 1998
  • 1998-08-12 FI FI981734A patent/FI981734A/sv unknown
• 1999
  • 1999-08-12 WO PCT/FI1999/000669 patent/WO2000009430A1/en active Application Filing
  • 1999-08-12 AU AU52925/99A patent/AU5292599A/en not_active Abandoned

Patent Citations (4)

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