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US 12,503,818 B2Granted
Tie plate handling mechanism
AssigneeB & B Metals, Inc.
InventorCoty T. Coots
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Present embodiments relate to one or more apparatus and method of handling tie plates for proper orientation. More specifically, but without limitation, the present embodiments relate to a method of handling tie plates, determining an orientation of the tie plate, and re-orienting the tie plate during the feeding process, if necessary.
Claims12
A tie plate handling mechanism, comprising:
- a feed conveyor;
- a table in receiving communication with said feed conveyor, said table capable of receiving a tie plate from said feed conveyor;
- said table operably connected to an actuator to move between a first position in which the tie plate is capable of being received and supported, and a second position in which the tie plate is unsupported;
- a second actuator associated with said table, said second actuator being a motor that causes rotation of said tie plate between a first orientation and a second orientation, said second actuator moving a claw that engages the tie plate;
- an angled transfer surface beneath said table which supports the tie plate in movement from a first elevation near said table to a second lower elevation.
2 more elements
A tie plate handling mechanism, comprising:
- a feed conveyor which feeds tie plates to a table in a first direction;
- a sensor operably connected to a controller to determine an orientation of each tie plate of said tie plates;
- a first actuator which rotates the tie plate, if determined to require rotation, from said orientation when said orientation differs from a desired orientation, said first actuator rotating a claw that engages and rotates said tie plate between said orientation and said desired orientation;
- and,
- a second actuator which moves at least a portion of a table top, to drop the tie plate to a second, lower elevation to exit the table in a second direction.
2 more elements
A method of handling a tie plate, comprising the steps of:
- feeding said tie plate to a table in a first orientation;
- determining if said first orientation is a desired orientation or an undesired orientation;
- rotating said tie plate if said first orientation is said undesired orientation with a first actuator that rotates a claw and said tie plate;
- actuating a table top with a second actuator a movable portion of said table top to drop the tie plate to a second, lower elevation;
- and,
- exiting said table in a direction that differs from a first entrance direction of said feeding.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.