Apparatus for longitudinally aligning concrete blocks on a conveyor
First Claim
1. An apparatus for orienting blocks into a desired position, comprising a pair of upper and lower turntables including respectively upper and lower block supporting surfaces, said lower supporting surface extending outwardly of, and below, said upper supporting surface, a peripheral wall outwardly spaced from said upper supporting surface, said upper turntable, said lower supporting surface and said peripheral wall defining a gutter dimensioned to receive blocks therein in a substantially longitudinal orientation thereof, an outlet provided at a downstream end of said gutter for allowing substantially oriented blocks to be discharged from said apparatus, whereby blocks fed to said apparatus are received by said upper turntable, are positioned by said apparatus in said gutter and are discharged from said apparatus via said outlet.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus provided for orienting concrete blocks into a desired position comprises a pair of upper and lower turntables including respectively upper and lower block supporting surfaces. The lower supporting surface extends outwardly of, and below, the upper supporting surface. A stationary peripheral wall extends outwardly of the lower turntable and defines with the upper turntable and the lower supporting surface a gutter. The gutter is dimensioned to receive blocks therein in a substantial longitudinal orientation thereof. An outlet is provided at a downstream end of the gutter for allowing the substantially oriented blocks to be discharged from the apparatus. Therefore, concrete blocks, or the like, fed to the apparatus are received by the upper turntable, are then positioned in the gutter under the rotation of the upper and lower turntables, which typically rotate at different speeds, and are then discharged from the apparatus via the outlet.
14 Citations
22 Claims
- 1. An apparatus for orienting blocks into a desired position, comprising a pair of upper and lower turntables including respectively upper and lower block supporting surfaces, said lower supporting surface extending outwardly of, and below, said upper supporting surface, a peripheral wall outwardly spaced from said upper supporting surface, said upper turntable, said lower supporting surface and said peripheral wall defining a gutter dimensioned to receive blocks therein in a substantially longitudinal orientation thereof, an outlet provided at a downstream end of said gutter for allowing substantially oriented blocks to be discharged from said apparatus, whereby blocks fed to said apparatus are received by said upper turntable, are positioned by said apparatus in said gutter and are discharged from said apparatus via said outlet.
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20. A method for orienting blocks into a desired position, comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a pair of upper and lower turntables including respectively upper and lower block supporting surfaces, said lower supporting surface extending outwardly of, and below, said upper supporting surface, said lower turntable being configured and sized so that blocks completely received thereon are in a substantially longitudinal orientation thereof;
(b) feeding blocks on said upper turntable with a rotation of said upper and lower turntables causing the blocks to take position on said lower supporting surface in said substantially longitudinal orientation; and
(c) discharging the blocks in said substantially longitudinal orientation from said lower turntable.
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21. An apparatus for orienting objects into a desired position, comprising a pair of upper and lower turntables including respectively upper and lower block supporting surfaces, said lower supporting surface extending outwardly of, and below, said upper supporting surface, a peripheral wall outwardly spaced from said upper supporting surface, said upper turntable, said lower supporting surface and said peripheral wall defining a gutter dimensioned to receive objects therein in a substantially longitudinal orientation thereof, an outlet provided at a downstream end of said gutter for allowing substantially oriented objects to be discharge from said apparatus, whereby objects fed to said apparatus are received by said upper turntable, are positioned by said apparatus in said gutter and are discharged from said apparatus via said outlet.
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22. A method for orienting objects into a desired position, comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a pair of upper and lower turntables including respectively upper and lower block supporting surfaces, said lower supporting surface extending outwardly of, and below, said upper supporting surface, said lower turntable being configured and sized so that objects completely received thereon are in a substantially longitudinal orientation thereof;
(b) feeding objects on said upper turntable with a rotation of said upper and lower turntables causing the objects to take position on said lower supporting surface in said substantially longitudinal orientation; and
(c) discharging the obsess in said substantially longitudinal orientation from said lower turntable.
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Specification