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US 2009/0014282 A1Published application
Apparatus for spacing boards
AssigneeNovilco Inc.
InventorMichel St-Pierre
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus for providing spaced boards is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a receiving section, a spacing section and a delivery section. The apparatus is characterized by the presence of overlapping providing means and conveying means, releasable stopping means and vertical pushing means which are operatively connected for releasing one board at a time. Repeated stopping and releasing of boards result in a continuous and regular flow of evenly spaced boards.
Claims19
An apparatus for providing spaced out boards, said apparatus comprising:
- providing means for providing a flow of boards, said providing means having a providing end wherefrom the flow of boards is provided;
- conveying means for conveying spaced out boards, said conveying means having a receiving end overlapping the providing end;
- stopping means, the stopping means having a blocking position for retaining a board at the receiving end of the conveying means and preventing forward movement of said board on the conveying means, and a release position for freeing said retained board and allowing movement of the board on the conveying means;
- vertical pushing means for applying a downwardly oriented force on a board retained at the receiving end of the conveyor means, said force increasing friction of the board on the conveying means and urging movement of the board on said conveying means;
- and
- controlling means for coordinating an actuation of the vertical pushing means and movement of the stopping means to its release position.
3 more elements
An apparatus for spacing out boards, said apparatus comprising:
- a chain conveyor for providing a flow of boards to be spaced out, said chain conveyor having a providing end wherefrom the flow of boards is provided;
- a belt conveyor for conveying spaced out boards, said a belt conveyor having a receiving end overlapping the providing end of the chain conveyor;
- at least two pivotable fingers positioned at substantially opposed extremities of the receiving end of the belt conveyor, said pivotable fingers alternatively pivoting between a blocking position for contacting a front face of a board and a release position;
- at least two pivotable arms positioned above and at substantially opposed extremities of the receiving end of the belt conveyor, said pivotable arms being configured for applying a downwardly oriented force on a board retained at the receiving end of the belt conveyor, said force increasing friction of the board on the belt conveyor and urging movement of the board on said belt conveyor;
- at least one optical detector for detecting presence or absence of a retained board at the receiving end of the belt conveyor;
- and
- a signal processing unit operatively connected to said pivotable fingers, to said pivotable arms and to said optical detector, the signal processing unit coordinating actuation of the pivotable arms and coordinating movement of the pivotable fingers between said blocking and release positions.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.