US 4,784,198 AGranted

Process and apparatus for loading chipping machines with lumber of uniform length

AssigneePallmann Machinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG

InventorWilhelm Pallmann

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Abstract

This invention relates to a process and an apparatus for achieving cost-effective and loss-free chipping of lumber which is supplied in lengths of the customary transportation width of approximately 2.50 m. According to the invention, the process comprises a loading operation in which a feed compartment which opens into a chipping space is loaded from above with a compact, aligned lumber pile and then a feed thrust acts directly on the lumber pile to cyclically load it into a chipping unit. The cyclic feed of the lumber pile continues with pieces of lumber of equal length being loaded while a pile for the next load is formed into another compact, aligned lumber pile. An apparatus comprises a loading magazine with pivotable load flaps forming a V-shaped bottom and arranged above a trough and a thrust plate longitudinally displaceable in a controllable manner to thrust lumber into a chipping compartment.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A process for loading a wood chipping unit, comprising the steps of:

providing a number of lumber pieces of approximately equal length;
depositing said lumber pieces into a hopper so as to form a compact pile in which said lumber pieces are aligned along their length;
placing said compact pile of lumber pieces into a feed compartment in such a manner that the pile remains substantially aligned;
advancing the lumber pieces of this pile by a plate simultaneously against a chipping unit in a substantially aligned manner;
operating a chipping machine to chip a first portion of said other lengthwise end of said compact pile;
advancing said plate a predetermined length so as to thrust a further portion of said compact pile into said chipping compartment, the length of said further portion bearing a relation to the working width of said chipping compartment and the length of said pile;
operating said chipping machine to chip said further portion;
cycling said plate so as to thrust successive further portions of said compact pile into said chipping compartment after each preceding further portion has been chipped;
and
depositing the aligning a next set of lumber pieces in said hopper during said propelling of said plate step or said cycling of said plate step.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.