S-shaped board unscrambler

• US 6,401,906 B1
• Filed: 01/22/2001
• Issued: 06/11/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Robert M. Smelcer, Timothy G. Franz
• Original Assignee: Robert M. Smelcer, Timothy G. Franz
• Inventors: Smelcer, Robert M., Franz, Timothy G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Valenza, Joseph E.
• Application Number:
  US09/765,710
• Time in Patent Office: 505 Days
• Field of Search: 198/397.01, 198/397.06
• US Class Current: 198/397.06
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 19/02 for articles, e.g. for containers
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 19/225 for article conveyors, e.g. for container conveyors B65G19/24 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 2201/0217 Elongated
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/1471 Movement in one direction, substantially outwards
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/1492 the articles being fed from a feeding conveyor

Abstract

A board unscrambler for lumber processing provides an upwardly and forwardly extending S-shaped curvilinear conveyor with a rearward horizontal portion to receive an agglomeration of scrambled boards, a medial uprising portion to unscramble and align the boards and a forward portion to deliver the boards at an elevated position. The conveyor provides at least two spaced link chains and interconnecting bars that are carried on an S-shaped conveyor support surface defining spaced parallel open top channels where each link chain is supported and maintained by synchronously driving both the lower rearward input portions of the chains to push the lower chain portions and the upper output portions to pull the upper chain portions to maintain the chains in the channels without vertical restraints. The unscrambled boards are delivered in an aligned single layer from the forward elevated portion of the conveyor.

Claims

1. An unscrambler to receive scrambled agglomerations of elongate boards, convey the boards upwardly and forwardly along an S-shaped curvilinear course to unscramble them and present the boards in an aligned array at an upper forward position, comprising in combination:

a frame having horizontal areal extent with a vertically lower rearward portion and a higher upstanding forward portion;

a conveyor support supported by the frame, said conveyor support

configured as a ruled surface having horizontal rulings defining an S-shaped curve in a vertical plane with a lower rearward horizontal portion interconnecting a medial forwardly and upwardly extending portion interconnecting a forward horizontal portion spacedly above the rearward portion

defining at least two laterally spaced upwardly opening conveyor chain channels extending perpendicularly to the horizontal ruling lines of the conveyor support;

a conveyor carried by the frame extending about the conveyor support with a conveying flight above the conveyor support and a return flight below the conveyor support, said conveyor having;

link conveyor chains carried in the conveyor chain channel defined in the conveyor support,

a laterally extending rearward drive shaft journaled on the frame and carrying spaced cogs to support the conveyor chains spacedly distant from the lower rearward portion of the conveyor support,

a laterally extending forward shaft journaled on the frame carrying spaced cogs to support the conveyor chains at the upper forward portion of the conveyor support, and

a plurality of elongate conveyor bars carried by the conveyor chains above the support surface to extend in spaced adjacency perpendicularly to the conveyor chains, and

driving mechanism including means to synchronously drive the forward conveyor shaft and the rearward conveyor shaft in the same direction to create a pushing force on the lower rearward portion of the conveyor chains, and

a pulling force on the upper forward portion of the conveyor chains to move the conveyor chains and positionally maintain them in the open top conveyor chain channels.

2. The unscrambler of claim 1 further comprising:

each conveyor chain formed by paired opposed inner links pivotally interconnecting paired opposed outer links by pin structures extending therebetween, and

each conveyor chain channel defined in the conveyor support having a medial upstanding ridge to extend between adjacent surfaces of the inner links of the conveyor chains to support the pin structures in the conveyor chain channels with the chain links spacedly distant from the surfaces defining the conveyor chain channel and the upstanding ridge.

3. The board unscrambler of claim 1 further having:

at least two spaced parallel support beams supporting the conveyor support beneath each of the at least two conveyor chain channels.

4. In a board unscrambler having:

a conveyor support defining a ruled surface formed by horizontal ruling lines defining a compound curvilinear surface in a vertical plane with a first rearward horizontal portion interconnecting a second medial upwardly curving portion interconnecting a third forward horizontal portion,

at least two spaced parallel upwardly opening conveyor chain channels defined in the conveyor support, and

an endless link chain conveyor having a conveying flight above the conveyor support and a return flight below the conveyor support with at least two conveyor link chains carried in the conveyor chain channels and interconnected by bars extending therebetween, means for driving the conveyor chains comprising

a rearward shaft drivably supporting the lower rearward portions of the at least two conveyor chains;

a forward shaft drivably supporting the upper forward portions of the at least two conveyor chains; and

powering means to synchronously drive the rearward and forward shafts in the same direction to cause pushing force on the rearward portions of the conveying flights of the at least two conveyor chains and pulling force on the forward portions of the conveying flights of the at least two conveyor chains to maintain the conveyor chains in the associated conveyor chain channel defined in the conveyor support.