Cross conveyor for wood-processing system

Claim 2

A cross conveyor apparatus comprising: conveying means for conveying material supported thereon along a generally horizontal conveyor path, support means positioned horizontally adjacent said conveying means for stationary support of said material to be conveyed, positioning means for effecting relative vertical shifting movement of said support means and said conveying means from a first material-holding position to a second material-conveying position, said support means being positioned at a level above the level of said conveying means in said first material-holding position and being positioned at a level below the level of said conveying means in said second material-conveying position, said support means including a flat material-confronting surface elongated in the direction of said conveyor path and mounted for tilting movement about an axis extending along said conveyor path, said positioning means being operable to tilt said surface about said axis from a first horizontal position wherein said surface lies wholly below the level of materialsupporting portions of said conveying means to a second tilted position wherein at least portions of said surface lie at a level above said portions of said conveying means.

Claim 3

Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said support means includes a plurality of tilting elements each including said material-confronting surface, one of said tilting elements being positioned laterally on each of the opposite sides of one of said conveying means.

Claim 4

Apparatus accorDing to claim 1 wherein said support means includes a plurality of laterally spaced elongate support strips extending lengthwise along said conveyor path, said conveying means including a plurality of endless conveying elements, there being a support strip positioned along each of the laterally opposite sides of at least one of said conveying elements, said elongate support strips including support portions movable vertically simultaneously relative to said conveying elements between said first and second positions.

Claim 5

Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said support means includes at least two support strips and said conveyor means includes at least two conveyor elements, said support strips and said conveyor elements being positioned in alternating relationship across the width of said conveyor path.

Claim 6

A cross conveyor apparatus according to claim 1 comprising: an upstream conveyor means, a downstream cross conveyor means positioned for receiving material from a discharge end of said upstream conveyor means and conveying said material generally horizontally along a cross conveyor path generally normal to the generally horizontal path of said upstream conveyor means, said downstream conveyor means including said conveying means for conveying material along said cross conveyor path and said support means, means for activating said positioning means to shift said support means and said conveying means relative to one another between said first and second positions including sensing means positioned adjacent the discharge end of said upstream conveyor means for sensing the trailing edge of material as it is discharged from said upstream conveyor means toward said cross conveyor means, said sensing means being operable to activate said positioning means in a direction for effecting relative shifting movement of said support and conveying means to said second position in response to the sensing of said trailing edge.

Claim 7

A cross conveyor apparatus comprising: conveying means for conveying material supported thereon along a generally horizontal conveyor path, support means positioned horizontally adjacent said conveying means for stationary support of said material to be conveyed, positioning means for effecting relative vertical shifting movement of said support means and said conveying means from a first material-holding position to a second material-conveying position, said support means being positioned at a level above the level of said conveying means in said first material-holding position and being positioned at a level below the level of said conveying means in said second material-conveying position, said conveying means including a series of endless conveyor elements laterally spaced from one another across the conveyor path, said support means including a series of plate-like support sections spaced from one another across the width of said conveyor path and positioned between adjacent pairs of said endless conveyor elements.

Claim 8

A cross conveyor apparatus comprising: conveying means for conveying material supported thereon along a generally horizontal conveyor path, support means positioned horizontally adjacent said conveying means for stationary support of said material to be conveyed, positioning means for effecting relative vertical shifting movement of said support means and said conveying means from a first material-holding position to a second material-conveying position, said support means being positioned at a level above the level of said conveying means in said first material-holding position and being positioned at a level below the level of said conveying means in said second material-conveying position, said conveying means including a series of endless conveyor elements laterally spaced from one another across the conveyor path, said support means including a series of plate-like support sections spaced from one another across the width of said conveyor path and positioned between adjacent pairs of said endless conveyor elements.

Claim 9

Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said support sections are mounted for tilting movement about pivot axes extending along said conveyor path, said positioning means including parallel linkage means interconnecting said support sections for tilting said sections about their respective pivot axes in unison, said positioning means including means for actuating said parallel linkage means from a first position wherein said support sections have material-supporting surface portions extending above the elevation of said conveyor elements to a second position wherein said sections are disposed generally horizontally wholly below the elevation of material-supporting portions of said conveyor elements.

Claim 10

Apparatus according to claim 6 including upstream conveyor means having a discharge end laterally adjacent said cross conveyor in a position for feeding material across said conveyor elements and support sections, said positioning means including means for tilting said support sections about tilt axes extending along said conveyor path from said second position wherein said support sections lie wholly beneath material-supporting surfaces of said conveyor elements to said first position wherein at least an edge portion of said sections lie above said surfaces of said conveyor elements and in a direction such that the uppermost edges of said plate sections in said first position are further from said upstream conveyor means than the lowermost edges thereof.

Claim 11

A cross conveyor apparatus for thin sheet material such as sheets of wood veneer comprising: a cross conveyor table including, continuously driven conveying means for conveying material supported thereon along a generally horizontal conveyor path, support means positioned horizontally adjacent said conveying means for stationary support of said material to be conveyed, positioning means for effecting relative vertical shifting movement of said support means and said conveying means from a first material-holding position to a second material-conveying position, said support means being positioned at a level above the level of said conveying means and arranged to support said material in a generally horizontal disposition in said first material-holding position and being positioned at a level below the level of said conveying means in said second material-conveying position, a continuously driven upstream conveyor means having a flow path normal to the path of said cross conveyor table and having its downstream end juxtaposed to said cross conveyor table without any intervening bridging conveyor means, both said conveying means and said support means being supported on said cross conveyor table at a level substantially below the level of the discharge end of said upstream conveyor means in both their first and second positions, power means for actuating said positioning means, and sensing means operable by said sheet material to activate said power means for relative vertical shifting movement of said support means and conveying means to said first position before the delivery of each new sheet or series of sheets laterally to said cross conveyor table from said upstream conveyor means and to said second position when said new sheets are received on said cross conveyor table, the vertical distance between the discharge end of said upstream conveyor means and the upper surfaces of said cross conveyor table, and the speed of said upstream conveyor means being such that sheets are lofted from said upstream conveyor means onto said cross conveyor table.

Claim 12

A cross conveyor apparatus for thin sheet material such as sheets of wood veneer comprising: a cross conveyor table including, continuously driven conveying means for conveying material supported thereon along a generally horizontal conveyor path, support means positioned horizontally adjacent said conveying means for stationary support of said material to be conveyed, positioning means for effecting relative vertical shifting movement of said support means and said conveying means from a first material-holding position to a second material-conveying position, said support means being positioned at a level above the level of said conveying means and arranged to support said material in a generally horizontal disposition in said first material-holding position and being positioned at a level below the level of said conveying means in said second material-conveying position, a continuously driven upstream conveyor means having a flow path normal to the path of said cross conveyor table and having its downstream end juxtaposed to said cross conveyor table without any intervening bridging conveyor means, both said conveying means and said support means being supported on said cross conveyor table at a level substantially below the level of the discharge end of said upstream conveyor means in both their first and second positions, power means for actuating said positioning means, and sensing means operable by said sheet material to activate said power means for relative vertical shifting movement of said support means and conveying means to said first position before the delivery of each new sheet or series of sheets laterally to said cross conveyor table from said upstream conveyor means and to said second position when said new sheets are received on said cross conveyor table, the vertical distance between the discharge end of said upstream conveyor means and the upper surfaces of said cross conveyor table, and the speed of said upstream conveyor means being such that sheets are lofted from said upstream conveyor means onto said cross conveyor table.

Claim 13

Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said cross conveyor table and said upstream conveyor means are adapted for handling simultaneously multiple strips of wood side by side in that said support means extends lengthwise along said conveyor table through a distance at least as great as the width of said upstream conveyor means at a position spanning said width.