WO2009136323A1

WO2009136323A1 - Bark-removal device

Info

Publication number: WO2009136323A1
Application number: PCT/IB2009/051749
Authority: WO
Inventors: Juan Esquenet Callu
Original assignee: Juan Esquenet Callu
Priority date: 2008-05-08
Filing date: 2009-04-29
Publication date: 2009-11-12
Also published as: UY31074A1

Abstract

The invention comprises at least two adjacent rotating elements (2) for removing bark from trunks in contact therewith. Each of the rotating elements (2) comprises an elongate body, the rotation axis (3) of which is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the trunks when bark is being removed therefrom, and each of said rotating elements (2) comprises at least one helical protuberance (5) on the outer surface thereof, which extends in the longitudinal direction of said rotating element (2).

Description

DISCORTEZED DEVICE

The present invention relates to a debarking device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The debarking device of the present invention belongs to the field of the wood industry. Various types of debarking machines are known to remove the bark from tree trunks, and leave them prepared for further processing.

These machines can be classified essentially into two groups: fixed machines, which are normally arranged in large industrial plants, and that have great performance, size and cost, and mobile machines, which can be moved to a specific location to perform the debarking of the trees in situ.

There are several types of fixed debarking machines. One of these types consists of a system of strawberries similar to a lathe, through which straight logs are obtained. This system is relatively slow.

Another type of fixed debarking machine comprises an upper axis and a lower axis equipped with chains that rotate at high speed, said chains hitting the logs and causing the bark to detach. This type of machine consumes a lot of energy and deteriorates the wood considerably.

Another type consists of a machine that comprises large rotating cylinders, inside which the trunks are arranged, which hit each other, thus detaching the crust. Such machines They have a very large size and a high cost.

Finally, a fixed machine consisting of a rotor system and blades is also known, including a ring through which the trunk passes and different moving parts consisting of blades, scrapers, dampers, feeder rollers, centering rollers, etc. The drawback of said machine is that logs that have knots, branch remains or a certain curvature are not bark correctly, and it is necessary to bark them by other procedures.

Mobile machines have a smaller size and performance compared to fixed machines, but have the great advantage that they avoid unnecessary transport of the bark of logs to industrial plants.

Various types of configurations can be found among mobile machines. A known configuration consists of a rotor and blade system similar to that described above. In this case, the machine works transversely with respect to the displacement of the tractor that carries the debarking device. The drawback of said configuration, in addition to the aforementioned, is that it has a considerable size, which makes it difficult to use it in some locations.

Another known mobile device consists of a debarking head that is mounted on the mechanical arms of excavators and the like. This device receives the mechanical energy through the hydraulic circuit of the excavator, and has a high performance, but also a great maintenance complexity and a high cost. In addition, said head is not the most suitable for barking logs of reduced diameter. Additionally, at the end of the barking of the logs, they are deposited on the ground, so that the wood gets dirty with dirt, sand and stones, which makes its subsequent processing difficult.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The objective of the present invention is to solve the drawbacks of the devices known in the art, by providing a debarking device comprising at least two adjacent rotating elements for barking logs in contact with them, characterized by the fact that each of The rotating elements comprise an elongated body whose axis of rotation is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the logs at the time of debarking and by the fact that each of the rotating elements comprises at least one helical protuberance on its outer surface which is extends in the longitudinal direction of said rotating element.

Thanks to these characteristics, the helical protuberances of the rotating elements are responsible for removing the bark from the logs arranged thereon by the effect of scraping on said bark. The rotating elements are arranged with their rotation axes parallel to each other and adjacently according to the direction transverse to said rotation axes, so that the trunks are arranged between both rotating elements and parallel to the rotation axes. Therefore, the trunks are bark quickly, since the helical protuberances of the rotating elements work on the entire surface of the trunks simultaneously.

Likewise, this configuration allows only a couple of rotating elements to be disposed to bark the logs, so that it is possible to manufacture a debarking device with few moving elements, of small size and great simplicity, making it especially suitable for use as a mobile debarking device.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the rotating elements comprise a conical shape.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the rotating elements comprise a cylindrical shape.

The shape of the rotating elements may vary according to the needs. Alternatively, the passage of the at least one helical protuberance in each rotating element is different with respect to the passage of the at least one helical protuberance of the adjacent rotating element.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the speed of rotation of each rotating element is different with respect to the speed of rotation of the adjacent rotating element.

Optionally, the direction of rotation of each rotating element is opposite with respect to the direction of rotation of the adjacent rotating element.

Thanks to the arrangement of helical protuberances with a different passage in each of the rotating elements, said protuberances have a different movement with an equivalent angular velocity. In this way, thanks to the different movement between the protuberances of each rotating element, an effective scraping of the bark of the logs is obtained.

It is also possible to obtain the same effect by arranging helical protuberances of the same type on each rotating element but making the rotation speed of each of said rotating elements different from each other.

In another embodiment of the present invention the at least one helical protuberance comprises relief elements at its outer edge. Such relief elements, which may consist of a plurality of teeth, notches, etc., increase the scratching action of the edges of the helical protuberances on the bark of the logs.

Preferably, the debarking device comprises a pre-cutting device arranged before the rotating elements and which performs at least a longitudinal cut in the bark of the logs. Said pre-cutting device allows a longitudinal cut to be made in the bark of the logs before its passage to the rotating elements. Said longitudinal cut facilitates the debarking of the trunks by the rotating elements. Advantageously, the debarking device comprises at least one stop disposed on the rotating elements that prevents the log stock of the device.

Preferably, the axes of rotation of the rotating elements are inclined with respect to the ground.

Said inclination allows the entrance to the debarking device to be at a lower height from the ground to facilitate the arrangement of the trunks therein and that the exit of the device is at a higher height from the ground, facilitating the placement of the trunks already debarked in a medium Of transport.

Also preferably, the rotating elements comprise a length greater than that of the logs. In this way, the trunks are barked more quickly, since the helical protuberances of the rotating elements act simultaneously over the entire surface length of each trunk.

Advantageously, the debarking device of the present invention comprises means for transporting it, said means being able to be Transport some wheels. The configuration and characteristics of the debarking device according to the present invention make it especially indicated as a mobile device, thanks to its simplicity and small size.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to facilitate the description of what has been set forth above, some drawings are attached in which, schematically and only by way of non-limiting example, a practical case of realizing the debarking device of the invention is represented, in which : Figure 1 is a side elevational view of an embodiment of the device of the present invention; Figure 2 is a top plan view of the device of Figure 1.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A preferred embodiment of the debarking device of the present invention will be described below. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the debarking device essentially comprises a chassis or enclosure 1 having a pair of rotating bodies 2 mounted inside.

The rotating bodies 2 consist in this case of a pair of truncated cones, arranged with their axis of rotation 3 in parallel, so that both rotating bodies 2 are located adjacent to each other according to the transverse direction with respect to their own axes. Turn 3.

As can be seen, the rotating bodies 2 are supported on the chassis 1 by means of respective 4 axes.

Each rotating body 2 has on its outer surface a helical protuberance 5 as a blade that extends longitudinally and spirally around said surface and whose characteristics will be explained in more detail below.

The operation of the debarking device is as follows. The logs to be barked (not shown) are disposed on the two adjacent rotating bodies 2, in the intermediate space between them and in simultaneous contact with the helical protuberances 5 of each of said rotating bodies 2. Both rotating bodies 2 rotate with respect to their axes of rotation 3. In the present embodiment, the bodies 2 rotate in the opposite direction to each other, and the respective helical protuberances 5 are inverse with each other.

The rotation of the rotating bodies 2 is such that the helical protuberances 5 tend to move the trunk or logs arranged thereon in an exit direction (see arrow S).

The helical protuberances 5 also perform the function of removing the bark from the logs by friction. The friction of the protuberances 5 with the logs to remove the bark can be obtained in different ways.

Said friction can be obtained by arranging helical protuberances 5 of the same type in each rotating body 2 but applying a different rotation speed to each of said bodies 2. Another way of obtaining friction is by designing each of the helical protuberances 5 with a step different, being able to rotate the respective rotating bodies 2 at the same angular velocity. That is, the scraping effect between said protuberances 5 and the cortex is produced thanks to the helical protuberances 5 of each rotating body 2 having a different movement from each other. Regardless of the type of configuration of the helical protuberances 5, they should always move the logs towards the exit of the debarking device.

In this way, as can be deduced, in the debarking device of the present invention, the trunks arranged on both rotating bodies 2 are displaced in the exit direction at the same time that their bark is eliminated by the friction effect of the protuberances. helical 5 on it. As mentioned above, in the present embodiment, in order to obtain the displacement of the trunks in the exit direction S of the debarking device, the rotational movement of both rotating bodies 2 is opposite each other and the helical protuberances 5 They have an inverse configuration with each other.

In the present embodiment, the truncated conical shaped rotating bodies 2 are arranged with their smaller diameter end located next to the larger diameter end of the adjacent rotating body 2. This configuration makes it possible to obtain an intermediate space between both rotating bodies 2 deeper, so that the trunks that are located in said intermediate space are in contact with a larger surface of said rotating bodies 2 and are barked more quickly by the helical protuberances 5.

However, the arrangement of the conical rotating bodies 2 could also be inverse, that is, with the smaller diameter end located next to the smaller diameter end of the adjacent rotating body, in correspondence with the input end of the debarking device. This configuration will facilitate the feeding of logs at the entrance of the device, since it will be possible to arrange said entrance at lower ground height. Likewise, it will also facilitate the loading of logs already debarked in a means of transport, since the larger diameter ends of the conical rotating bodies will be located in correspondence with the outlet end of the debarking device, so that it will be possible to arrange said higher ground clearance.

Alternatively, the device of the present invention may include cylindrical rotating bodies, instead of truncated cone-shaped rotating bodies. As can be seen in Figure 2, both rotating bodies 2 are separated from each other by a distance D, and the respective helical protuberances 5 are also separated from each other by a distance d. The approximate separation distance d between the outer edges of the protuberances 5 of each body 2 can be 4 centimeters. The remains of bark will be expelled through said intermediate space between the rotating bodies 2.

In this way, the remains of bark are deposited in the soil, returning organic matter and minerals to the earth.

Additionally, the height of the protuberance 5 of a rotating body 2 may be the same or different from the height of the protuberance 5 of the adjacent rotating body 2 in a given section. In the event that the height of said helical protuberances 5 is different, said difference can be compensated by increasing or decreasing the height of the protuberance 5 of the adjacent rotating body 2 inversely with respect to the height of the protuberance 5 of the other body swivel 2. Thanks to said height difference between the protuberances 5 a better debarking of the crooked logs is obtained.

Preferably, the helical protuberances 5 may comprise at its outer edge a series of reliefs 6 such as notches, teeth, etc. that facilitate the debarking action of the device.

Also preferably, the rotation axes 3 of the rotating bodies 2 will be inclined with respect to the ground, as can be seen in Figure 1, so that one of its ends located on the exit side of the device is at a greater height than the floor than the end located on the input side of the device. This configuration will facilitate the placement of logs at the entrance of the device and the exit of logs already bark for disposal in a means of transport, such as a truck. In this way, the logs can be placed directly on a trailer for later transport, avoiding their arrangement on the ground and its contamination.

The length of each rotating body 2 will preferably be greater than the length of the logs to be barked. Thanks to this feature, the logs can be barked simultaneously on their entire surface, since they will always be arranged for at least a period of time with their entire length in contact with the helical protuberances 5 of the rotating bodies 2. This It allows to increase the speed of barking of the trunks. The debarking device of the present invention may comprise a pre-cutting apparatus 7 at the entrance thereof. Said apparatus 7 may consist of one or more rollers that rotate along an axis 8 perpendicular to the direction of travel of the logs and that make a longitudinal cut in the bark, guiding said trunks into the device and arranging them on the rotating bodies 2 simultaneously. In this way, the rotating bodies 2 can bark the logs more quickly and efficiently. The pre-cutting device 7 may be operated by a transmission mechanism or by an independent motor.

Advantageously, the debarking device of the present invention will comprise at least one fixed stop 9 located on the rotating bodies 2. In the present embodiment, two bridges 9 with the form of a bridge are included, which prevent the logs being cut from barking. and fall off the device.

The actuation of axes 4 and 8 of the rotating bodies 2 and of the prior cutting apparatus 7, respectively, can be carried out in different ways known in the art.

In the present embodiment, the device comprises a gearbox 10 of various transmission ratios to adapt the rotational speed of each rotating body 2 to the type of wood to be barked and to the state thereof.

Next to the gearbox 10, a chain drive mechanism 11 is arranged connected to the front axle 4 of one of the rotating bodies 2. A gearbox 12 is also provided with an outlet at ninety degrees to drive the axis 8 of the apparatus. pre-cut 7. A drive shaft 13 associated with the gearbox 10 drives an inverter box 14, which in turn drives a chain 15 connected to the shaft 4 of the other rotating body 2 and which rotates it in the opposite direction. A cardan 16 transmits the movement of a tractor (not shown) to the gearbox 10.

Obviously, the type of drives and the type of force used to operate the debarking device may be any known in the art, for example, force transmission may be carried out mechanically, hydraulically, electrically, etc. As can be seen in the figures, the debarking device of the present invention can comprise a set of wheels 17 to facilitate its transport, it can be towed by means of a support 18 for attachment to a tractor, from which it can obtain the necessary force to work .

As explained above, the device of the present invention has great simplicity, with few moving parts and small size. In this way, said device is ideal to be transported to the location where it is necessary to bark the trees. The device of the present invention can work longitudinally with respect to a tractor that tows it.

Also, the configuration of the rotating bodies 2 with the helical protuberances 5 allows barking logs with irregular shapes and different sizes. For example, the device of the present invention is especially useful in wood pulp pulp crops, in which logs of very different diameters and with crooked shapes are used. The gearbox 10 allows the speed of rotation of each rotating body 2 to be adapted to the type of wood to be barked, so that the device of the present invention can be used in a wide variety of situations and with high performance.

Finally, the debarking device of the present invention, in addition to being movable by a tractor unit, can also be part of an independent mobile machine.

Claims

1. Debarking device comprising at least two adjacent rotating elements (2) for barking logs in contact therewith, characterized in that each of the rotating elements (2) comprises an elongated body whose axis of rotation (3 ) is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the trunks at the time of debarking and by the fact that each of the rotating elements (2) comprises at least one helical protuberance (5) on its outer surface extending in the direction longitudinal of said rotating element (2).

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the rotating elements (2) comprise a conical shape.

3. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the rotating elements (2) comprise a cylindrical shape.

4. Device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the passage of the at least one helical protuberance

(5) in each rotating element (2) is different with respect to the passage of the at least one helical protuberance (5) of the adjacent rotating element (2).

Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the speed of rotation of each rotating element (2) is different with respect to the speed of rotation of the adjacent rotating element (2).

Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the direction of rotation of each rotating element (2) is opposite with respect to the direction of rotation of the adjacent rotating element (2).

Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one helical protuberance (5) comprises relief elements (6) at its outer edge.

Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a pre-cutting device (7) arranged before the rotating elements (2) and which performs at least a longitudinal cut in the bark of the logs.

9. Device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises at least one stop (9) disposed on the rotating elements (2) that prevents the logging of the device.

Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rotation axes (3) of the rotating elements (2) are inclined with respect to the ground.

Device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rotating elements (2) comprise a length greater than that of the logs.

12. Device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises means for transporting (17) thereof.

13. Device according to claim 12, characterized in that the means for transporting the device comprise wheels (17).