Board Conveyor Apparatus for Use in a Board Processing System
AssigneeAutomated Industrial Technologies, Inc.
InventorsCharles D. Lamb, Shawn Little
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An unscrambler machine receives a load of wooden boards in its hopper. The unscrambler steadily dispenses one board at a time onto a grading “waterfall” conveyor. When the board leaves the unscrambler, it is relatively aligned, but not always adequately aligned, perpendicular to the direction of travel of the conveyor. In the case that multiple tiered “waterfall” conveyors are used, the board is cascaded down each waterfall configuration and will continue to be straightened out by nature of the effect of gravity on the board as it slides down to encounter the conveyor chain of each conveyor tier.
Claims18
A board conveyor apparatus for use in between components of a board processing system, the conveyor apparatus comprising:
- a first conveyor, a second conveyor and a third conveyor connected end to end to each other, wherein the first conveyor, second conveyor and third conveyor each have their own first end and second end with a direction of travel from the first end to the second end of each first conveyor, second conveyor and third conveyor;
- wherein the second end of the first conveyor is adjacent the first end of the second conveyor whereby boards are conveyed on the first conveyor onto the second conveyor, and wherein the second end of the second conveyor is adjacent the first end of the third conveyor;
- a plurality of boards wherein the boards are adapted to be aligned on the first, second and third conveyors relatively perpendicular to the direction of travel of the boards;
- the board conveyor apparatus further comprising a multiple waterfall configuration wherein the second end of the first conveyor is relationally above the first end of the second conveyor and the second end of the second conveyor is relationally above the first end of the third conveyor;
- wherein boards moving on the second end of the first conveyor will fall by gravity onto the first end of the second conveyor, and boards moving on the second end of the second conveyor will fall by gravity onto the first end of the third conveyor;
- whereby the action of boards falling by gravity will straighten the boards so that they are more aligned in the perpendicular orientation relative to the direction of travel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.