High speed unscrambler for bar feeders

Claim 2

In an apparatus for unscrambling a bundle of parallel bars comprising a rigid frame having portions spaced apart to receive said bundle and to permit vertical movement thereof, spaced flexible slings for supporting the bundle, sling supports mounted on the opposite side of the frame for supporting the slings to provide festoons for supporting the bundle of bars, a ramp adjacent said sling supports, driving means for moving each sling upwardly from its festoon over its associated sling support to shorten and raise said festoon and to feed a bar from said bundle to said ramp, said driving means being operable to effect raising of the bundle and also being operable to move each sling in the opposite direction to lower the bundle, and means for periodically reversing said driving means to cause raising and lowering of said slings, whereby the bars are oriented in the bundle, the improvement which comprises bar-engaging guide means above the inlet end portion of said feed ramp and spaced therefrom to provide an unobstructed path of movement with a height greater than the diameter of said bars and less than twice said diameter to assure formation of no more than one row of bars on said ramp, saiD guide means having a bar-engaging surface inclined in a direction to guide each bar toward the ramp so as to facilitate feeding of the bars to the ramp at a rapid rate, and means for ejecting any interfering bar remaining adjacent said inlet end portion after raising of the slings is discontinued to clear said path and for throwing such bar over the bundle to the other side thereof while the slings are being lowered so that any such interfering bar will not be returned to said ramp until after other of the remaining bars of the bundle are fed to the ramp, said last-named means including a plurality of pivoted ejector arms mounted to swing vertically from retracted positions out of said path of movement of the bars on said ramp to bar-engaging positions, and motor means for periodically moving said arms to effect ejection and to clear said path of any such interfering bar, each of said ejector arms having a bar-engaging foot portion to assist in throwing the bar over the bundle during such ejection.

Claim 3

Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein means are provided to initiate operation of said motor means during each cycle of operation a predetermined period of time after lowering of the slings is initiated by said driving means.

Claim 4

In an apparatus for unscrambling a bundle of parallel bars comprising a rigid frame having portions spaced apart to receive said bundle and to permit vertical movement thereof, spaced flexible slings for supporting the bundle, sling supports mounted on the opposite side of the frame for supporting the slings to provide festoons for supporting the bundle of bars, a ramp adjacent said sling supports, driving means for moving each sling upwardly from its festoon over its associated sling support to shorten and raise said festoon and to feed a bar from said bundle to said ramp, said driving means being operable to effect raising of the bundle and also being operable to move each sling in the opposite direction to lower the bundle, and means for periodically reversing said driving means to cause raising and lowering of said slings, whereby the bars are oriented in the bundle, the improvement which comprises bar-engaging guide means above the inlet end portion of said feed ramp and spaced therefrom to provide an unobstructed path of movement with a height greater than the diameter of said bars and less than twice said diameter to assure formation of no more than one row of bars on said ramp, said guide means having a bar-engaging surface inclined in a direction to guide each bar toward the ramp so as to facilitate feeding of the bars to the ramp at a rapid rate, and means for ejecting any interfering bar remaining adjacent said inlet end portion after raising of the slings is discontinued to clear said path and for throwing such bar over the bundle while the slings are being lowered so that any such interfering bar will not be returned to said ramp until after other of the remaining bars of the bundle are fed to the ramp, said last-named means including a plurality of ejector arms mounted to swing vertically from retracted positions out of said path of movement of the bars on said ramp to bar-engaging positions, and motor means for periodically moving said arms to effect ejection and to clear said path of any such interfering bar, each of said ejector arms having a foot portion with an inclined bar-engaging surface to impart lift to a bar as it is ejected.

Claim 5

In an apparatus for unscrambling a bundle of parallel bars comprising a rigid frame having portions spaced apart to receive said bundle and to permit vertical movement thereof, spaced flexible slings for supporting the bundle, sling supports mounted on the opposite side of the frame for supporting the slings to provide festoons for supporting the bundle of bars, a ramp adjacent said sling supports, driving means for moving each sling upwardly from its festoon over its associated sling support to shorten and raise said festoon and to feed a bar from said bundle to said ramp, said driving means being operable to effect raising of the bundle and also being operable to move each sling in the opposite direction to lower the bundle, and means for periodically reversing said driving means to cause raising and lowering of said slings, whereby the bars are oriented in the bundle, the improvement which comprises bar-engaging guide means above the inlet end portion of said feed ramp and spaced therefrom to provide an unobstructed path of movement with a height greater than the diameter of said bars and less than twice said diameter to assure formation of no more than one row of bars on said ramp, said guide means having a bar-engaging surface inclined in a direction to guide each bar toward the ramp so as to facilitate feeding of the bars to the ramp at a rapid rate, and means for ejecting any interfering bar remaining adjacent said inlet end portion after raising of the slings is discontinued to clear said path and for throwing such bar over the bundle while the slings are being lowered so that any such interfering bar will not be returned to said ramp until after other of the remaining bars of the bundle are fed to the ramp, said last-named means including a plurality of ejector arms mounted to swing vertically from retracted positions out of said path of movement of the bars on said ramp to bar-engaging positions, and motor means for periodically moving said arms to effect ejection and to clear said path of any such interfering bar, each of said ejector arms having a foot portion with an inclined bar-engaging surface to impart lift to a bar as it is ejected.

Claim 6

Apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein each foot portion is adjustably mounted on its associated ejector arm to facilitate operation with bars of different diameters.

Claim 7

Apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said guide means is mounted for adjustment toward and away from said ramp to accommodate bars of different diameter.

Claim 8

Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein there are provided means responsive to movement of a bar toward said ramp for automatically reversing said driving means to lower the slings and means for initiating operation of said motor means a predetermined period of time lAter to effect ejecting movement of said arms while the slings are being lowered.

Claim 9

Apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein the means for reversing said driving means includes a switch means mounted in the path of movement of a bar on said ramp.

Claim 10

Apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said means for reversing said driving means provides a sufficient delay to permit feeding of a series of bars to the storage ramp each time the slings are raised.

Claim 11

Apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said switch means is located near the entrance portion of the storage ramp.

Claim 12

A process for feeding hollow or solid bars to a bar storage ramp of a bar feeder having conveying means to receive bars periodically fed from said ramp, said process comprising supporting a bundle of said bars in generally parallel relation on spaced slings, causing said slings to move over sling supports located near the entrance end of the storage ramp while supporting the ends of the slings remote from said ramp to provide festoons extending under the bundle to support the same, raising the bars by moving the slings up over the sling supports to cause some of the bars to move upwardly and over the sling supports to said ramp, reversing the direction of movement of the slings over said sling supports to lower the bars after some of said bars move laterally onto said ramp, thereafter causing said slings to raise the remaining bars of said bundle as before to feed additional bars to said ramp, and continuing to raise and lower the slings to maintain a supply of bars on said ramp and to orient the bars on said slings, characterized in that inclined guide means are supported above the inlet end portion of said feed ramp and spaced therefrom to provide an unobstructed space with a height greater than the diameter of said bars and less than twice said diameter to assure formation of no more than one row of bars on said ramp, and in that any bar remaining adjacent said inlet end portion after the bars are fed to the ramp by raising the slings is ejected while the slings are being lowered and is thrown upwardly and outwardly over the bundle in such manner that it will not be returned to said ramp until after other bars are fed to the storage ramp.

Claim 13

A process for feeding hollow or solid bars to a bar storage ramp of a bar feeder having conveying means to receive bars periodically fed from said ramp, said process comprising supporting a bundle of said bars in generally parallel relation on spaced slings, causing said slings to move over sling supports located near the entrance end of the storage ramp while supporting the ends of the slings remote from said ramp to provide festoons extending under the bundle to support the same, raising the bars by moving the slings up over the sling supports to cause some of the bars to move upwardly and over the sling supports to said ramp, reversing the direction of movement of the slings over said sling supports to lower the bars after some of said bars move laterally onto said ramp, thereafter causing said slings to raise the remaining bars of said bundle as before to feed additional bars to said ramp, and continuing to raise and lower the slings to maintain a supply of bars on said ramp and to orient the bars on said slings, characterized in that inclined guide means are supported above the inlet end portion of said feed ramp and spaced therefrom to provide an unobstructed space with a height greater than the diameter of said bars and less than twice said diameter to assure formation of no more than one row of bars on said ramp, and in that any bar remaining adjacent said inlet end portion after the bars are fed to the ramp by raising the slings is ejected while the slings are being lowered and is thrown upwardly and outwardly over the bundle in such manner that it will not be returned to said ramp until after other bars are fed to the storage ramp.

Claim 14

A process as defined in claim 10 wherein such ejection is effected in each cycle a predetermined period of time after lowering of the slings is initiated and before the slings are again raised.

Claim 15

A process as defined in claim 11 wherein said predetermined period is about 1 to about 3 seconds.

Claim 16

A process as defined in claim 1 wherein the ejected bar is thrown a horizontal distance of at least 8 inches.

Claim 17

A process as defined in claim 10 wherein the ejected bar is throw to the side of the bundle remote from said ramp.

Claim 18

A process as defined in claim 10 wherein three to eight bars are fed to the ramp each time the slings are raised.

Claim 19

A process as defined in claim 10 wherein such ejection is effected by a plurality of pivoted eject arms having retracted positions out of the path of movement of bars moving onto said ramp and having advanced positions in said path.

Claim 20

In a process for feeding hollow or solid bars to a bar storage ramp of a bar feeder having conveying means to receive bars periodically fed from said ramp, said process comprising supporting a bundle of said bars in generally parallel relation on spaced slings, causing said slings to move over sling supports located near the entrance end of the storage ramp while supporting the ends of the slings remote from said ramp to provide festoons extending under the bundle to support the same, raising the bars by moving the slings up over the sling supports to cause some of the bars to move upwardly and over the sling supports to said ramp, reversing the direction of movement of the slings over said sling supports to lower the bars after some of said bars move laterally onto said ramp, thereafter causing said slings to raise the remaining bars of said bundlE as before to feed additional bars to said ramp, and continuing to raise and lower the slings to maintain a supply of bars on said ramp and to orient the bars on said slings, characterized in that inclined guide means are supported above the inlet end portion of said feed ramp and spaced therefrom to provide an unobstructed space with a height greater than the diameter of said bars and less than twice said diameter to assure formation of no more than one row of bars on said ramp, and in that any bar remaining adjacent said inlet end portion after the bars are fed to the ramp by raising the slings is ejected while the slings are being lowered and is thrown over the bundle in such manner that it will not be returned to said ramp until after other bars are fed to the storage ramp, such ejection being effected by a plurality of pivoted eject arms having retracted positions out of the path of movement of bars moving onto said ramp and having advanced positions in said path, each of said eject arms having a bar-engaging foot portion to assist in throwing the bar over the bundle during each ejection. guide means are supported above the inlet portion of said feed ramp and spaced therefrom to provide an unobstructed space with a height greater than the diameter of said bars and less than twice said diameter to assure formation of no more than one row of bars on said ramp, and in that any bar remaining adjacent said inlet end portion after the bars are fed to the ramp by raising the slings is ejected while the slings are being lowered and is thrown over the bundle in such manner that it will not be returned to said ramp until after other bars are fed to the storage ramp, such ejection being effected by a plurality of pivoted eject arms having retracted positions out of the path of movement of bars moving onto said ramp and having advanced positions in said path, each of said eject arms having a bar-engaging foot portion to assist in throwing the bar over the bundle during each ejection.

Claim 21

In a process for feeding hollow or solid bars to a bar storage ramp of a bar feeder having conveying means to receive bars periodically fed from said ramp, said process comprising supporting a bundle of said bars in generally parallel relation on spaced slings, causing said slings to move over sling supports located near the entrance end of the storage ramp while supporting the ends of the slings remote from said ramp to provide festoons extending under the bundle to support the same, raising the bars by moving the slings up over the sling supports to cause some of the bars to move upwardly and over the sling supports to said ramp, reversing the direction of movement of the slings over said sling supports to lower the bars after some of said bars move laterally onto said ramp, thereafter causing said slings to raise the remaining bars of said bundlE as before to feed additional bars to said ramp, and continuing to raise and lower the slings to maintain a supply of bars on said ramp and to orient the bars on said slings, characterized in that inclined guide means are supported above the inlet end portion of said feed ramp and spaced therefrom to provide an unobstructed space with a height greater than the diameter of said bars and less than twice said diameter to assure formation of no more than one row of bars on said ramp, and in that any bar remaining adjacent said inlet end portion after the bars are fed to the ramp by raising the slings is ejected while the slings are being lowered and is thrown over the bundle in such manner that it will not be returned to said ramp until after other bars are fed to the storage ramp, such ejection being effected by a plurality of pivoted eject arms having retracted positions out of the path of movement of bars moving onto said ramp and having advanced positions in said path, each of said eject arms having a bar-engaging foot portion to assist in throwing the bar over the bundle during each ejection. guide means are supported above the inlet portion of said feed ramp and spaced therefrom to provide an unobstructed space with a height greater than the diameter of said bars and less than twice said diameter to assure formation of no more than one row of bars on said ramp, and in that any bar remaining adjacent said inlet end portion after the bars are fed to the ramp by raising the slings is ejected while the slings are being lowered and is thrown over the bundle in such manner that it will not be returned to said ramp until after other bars are fed to the storage ramp, such ejection being effected by a plurality of pivoted eject arms having retracted positions out of the path of movement of bars moving onto said ramp and having advanced positions in said path, each of said eject arms having a bar-engaging foot portion to assist in throwing the bar over the bundle during each ejection.

Claim 22

A process as defined in claim 10 wherein said bar remaining adjacent said inlet end portion is ejected and thrown a horizontal distance of at least 1 foot while being caused to move upwardly about 1 to 10 inches.

Claim 23

A process as defined in claim 18 wherein said last-named bar is thrown at least halfway across the bundle and caused to move to the side of the bundle remote from the feed ramp.

Claim 24

A process as defined in claim 18 wherein said last-named bar is thrown at least about half the distance from said sling supports to the supported ends of the slings remote from said ramp.

Claim 25

A process as defined in claim 10 wherein said bar remaining adjacent said inlet end portion is ejected and thrown over all of the bars remaining on the slings.

Claim 26

Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the foot portion of each pivoted arm remains in the path of movement of the bars while it moves at least 4 inches along the ramp and while it swings at least 40* to an upwardly inclined position.

Claim 27

Apparatus as defined in claim 22 wherein each arm has a radial length of about 5 to about 15 inches.

Claim 28

Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein each ejector arm in its retracted position is inclined 20* to 50* relative to the vertical and is spaced 2 to 8 inches from said inclined bar-engaging surface of said guide means and wherein each ejector arm in its advanced position is inclined in the opposite direction 20* to 80* relative to the vertical and extends 2 to 8 inches beyond said last-named bar-engaging surface.