Lumber sorter

Claim 2

An improvement in a lumber sorter having a plurality of bays for receiving pieces of lumber, means for systematically moving lumber pieces of various dimensions over said bays, and means for selectIng certain lumber pieces and causing them to be received in one of said bays whereby lumber pieces may be categorized by being dropped into said bays according to predetermined categories, said improvement comprising forward and rearward continuous elongated flexible members respectively for said bays to provide one of said forward members and one of said rearward members for each of said bays, means movably suspending said forward elongated members transversely of said respective bays to establish forward cradles, means movably suspending said rearward elongated members transversely of said respective bays to establish rearward cradles for cooperating with said forward cradles to support the lumber pieces dropped therein, said forward and rearward cradles of each of said bays normally having a substantially parallel spaced apart disposition with the distance therebetween being less than the length of the lumber pieces, said forward cradles being free to swing independently from said cooperative rearward cradles, said rearward cradles being free to swing independently from said cooperative forward cradles, and means for selectively controlling the height of said rearward and forward cradles.

Claim 3

The improvement of claim 1 in which is included infeed conveyor means for selectively receiving the packaged lumber pieces from said respective plurality of forward and rearward cradles and conveying the lumber pieces to a location remote from said plurality of bays.

Claim 4

The improvement of claim 1 in which is included a plurality of gate means positioned respectively adjacent said plurality of bays, said gate means having open and closed positions, placing said gate means in said open position being effective to allow the lumber pieces to pass through said gate and be received by said cradles, placing said gate means in said closed position being effective to allow the lumber pieces to be supported by said gate means a distance above said cradles, and placing said gate means in said open position subsequent to lumber pieces being supported by said gate means being effective to release the supported lumber pieces.

Claim 5

The improvement of claim 1 in which said means for movably suspending said forward and rearward cradles includes rotatable spool means, said forward and rearward elongated members being attached to said spool means.

Claim 6

The improvement of claim 4 in which said means for controlling the height of said forward and rearward cradles includes means attached to said spool means for winding and unwinding said elongated members about said spool means to simultaneously raise and lower said forward and rearward cradles.

Claim 7

The improvement of claim 5 in which said means for controlling the height of said forward and rearward cradles additionally includes releasable brake means for selectively holding said forward and rearward cradles at various heights while supporting the weight of the lumber pieces carried thereby.

Claim 8

The improvement of claim 6 in which said means for winding and unwinding said elongated members about said spool means includes a prime mover coupled to said spool means for rotatably driving said spool means.

Claim 9

The improvement of claim 7 in which said means for controlling the height of said forward and rearward cradles further includes gear reduction means interposed between said prime mover and said spool means for increasing the torque of said prime mover.

Claim 10

The improvement of claim 1 in which said forward and rearward elongated flexible members consist of webs of nylon.

Claim 11

An improvement in a lumber sorter having frame means establishing a plurality of bays for receiving pieces of lumber, means for systematically moving lumber pieces of various dimensions over said bays, and means for selecting certain lumber pieces and causing them to be received in one of said bays whereby lumber pieces may be categorized by being dropped into said bays according to predetermined categories, said improvement comprising a forward and a rearward continuous elongated flexible member for each of said bays, one of the respective ends of said forward and rearward flexible members being fixedly attached to said frame means, a plurality of independently driven rotatable spool means respectively disposed adjacent said plurality of bays for selectively taking in and paying out said forward and rearward flexible members, the other one of the respective ends remote from said one end of said forward and rearward flexible members being attached to said plurality of spool means with said forward and rearward flexible members extending transversely of said respective bays at a predetermined spaced apart distance which is less than the length of the lumber pieces to establish forward and rearward cradles for cooperatively supporting the lumber pieces dropped therein, each of said forward cradles being free to swing independently from said cooperative rearward cradle, each of said rearward cradles being free to swing independently from said cooperative forward cradle, and said cooperative forward and rearward cradles of said plurality of bays respectively being selectively raised and lowered indiscriminately by said plurality of spool means.

Claim 12

An improvement in a lumber sorter having frame means establishing a plurality of bays for receiving pieces of lumber, means for systematically moving lumber pieces of various dimensions over said bays, and means for selecting certain lumber pieces and causing them to be received in one of said bays whereby lumber pieces may be categorized by being dropped into said bays according to predetermined categories, said improvement comprising a forward and a rearward continuous elongated flexible member for each of said bays, one of the respective ends of said forward and rearward flexible members being fixedly attached to said frame means, a plurality of independently driven rotatable spool means respectively disposed adjacent said plurality of bays for selectively taking in and paying out said forward and rearward flexible members, the other one of the respective ends remote from said one end of said forward and rearward flexible members being attached to said plurality of spool means with said forward and rearward flexible members extending transversely of said respective bays at a predetermined spaced apart distance which is less than the length of the lumber pieces to establish forward and rearward cradles for cooperatively supporting the lumber pieces dropped therein, each of said forward cradles being free to swing independently from said cooperative rearward cradle, each of said rearward cradles being free to swing independently from said cooperative forward cradle, and said cooperative forward and rearward cradles of said plurality of bays respectively being selectively raised and lowered indiscriminately by said plurality of spool means.