Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1298(~36
ATM 001 P2 -1-
PALLET SYSTEH
~ackground of the Invention
Pallets, particularly wooden pallets, are
utilized in vast numbers for shipping, stora~e and
handling of a wide variety of products. During such
operations pallets are frequently damaged and generally
have a relatively short useful life, requiring a
continuous supply of replacement pallets in substantial
quantities.
Construction of such pallets was originally
accomplished in a totally manual operation, perhaps
assisted by a ~iq to position the pallet components in
their desired relationship preparatory to nailing or
otherwise securing them to each other.
At the other end of the spectrum, massive
automated systems have been provided at an expense of
hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce pallets on a
continuous, automated ba~is.
Thu~, while the demand for pallets continues
unabated, the high volume production required to satisfy
this demand ha-~ necessitated huge capital expenditures or
a highly labor-intensive work force.
Summary of the Invention
The present invention provides a system for
producing wooden pallets on a relatively high volume
basis, but without the attendant massive machinery and
expense heretofor associated with producing pallets in
substantial quantitie~.
1~98036
ATM 001 P2 -2-
Thus~ the present invention provide~ a machine
which can be operated with minimal ~anual labor
requilements and at an expense only a fraction of fully
automated system~ such as those noted above, but which
S nonetheless provides a continuous product~on of pallets in
substantial quantitie~.
As will be seen in the ensuing description, the
present invent~on provides a fixture into which the pallet
components, namely, the slats and stringers, are loaded
manually, and thereafter the fixture is moved past a
nailing station having opposed pairs of upper and lower
nailing guns, which operate in unison to nail each
successive upper and lower slat as it ~oves through the
nailing station to the upper and lower surfaces,
respectively, of the stringers.
The pairs of nailing guns are equal in number to
the nu~ber of stringers in tbe pallet, and the fixture is
provided with actuating means equal in number to the
number of ~lat~ in the pallet which actuate switches which
in turn trigger the nailing guns as the slats move past
them, resulting in each slat being nailed simultaneously
to all of the stringer~ as that particular slat moves past
the guns.
The fixture i8 mounted for continuous movement
from a loading station past the nailing station and to an
unloading station, where the completed pallet is unloaded,
- and then recycled back to the loading station for
reloading with additional slats and stringers for the next
pass past the nailing station.
As a result, the present invention permits
assembly of pallets with minimal manual labor and
relatiYely low cost, but on a high volume, continuou~
basis.
1298(~36
ATM 001 P2 ~3~
Brief Description of the Drawings
Fig. 1 iS an elevational view of the apparatus of
the present inventiont
Fiq. 2 iS a cross-sectional view taken on line
2--2 of Fig. lt
Fig. 3 is an end view taken on line 3--3 of Fig.
ls
Fig. 4 is a plan view showing the fixture for
receiving slats and stringers with portions broken away
for claritYs
Fig. S is a plan view of the fixture with the
bottom slat~ received in their locators
Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, but showing
the stringers received in their locators overlying the
lS bottom slats;
Fig. 7 is a further view of the fixture, but with
the top slat locators moved inwardly to their slat
receiving position
Fig. 8 i8 a view similar to Fig. 7 showing the
installation of exemplary top slats;
Fig. 9 i8 an exploded perspective view showing
the mechanism for moving the top slat locators inwardly
and outwardly between the positions shown in Pigs. 6 and 7
of the drawingst
Fig. 10 is an elevational view on line 10--10 of
Fig. 11, showing a side rail of the fixture carrying the
actuating bosses and witb the proximity switches in
phantom~ and
Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view through a
portion of the main supporting frame and fixture showing
the actuating bosses and proximity switches.
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i2g~036 --
ATM 801 P2 ~4~
Descript~on of the Preferred Embodiments
With reference initially to Fig. 1 of the
drawings, it will be seen that the apparatus 10 of the
present invention includes three primary stations: a
loading station, a nailing station and a pickoff station.
All three stations are supported on a main frame 12,
con~isting of uprights 14 and 16, and horizontal
structural members 18, 20 and 22, interconnected by .
appropriate cross bracing, not specifically referenced.
10At the loading station a fixture 24 ~see Figs. 4
through 8) is initially positioned to receive the pallet
components. Fixture 24 includes longitudinally extending,
box-shaped side rails 26 and 28 and pairs of spaced apart,
box-shaped cross members 30 and 32. Secondary side rails
1534 and 36 are mounted by means of bolts 38 and washers 40
for movement along the pairs of cross members 30 and 32.
Thus, bolts 38 may be loosened and secondary side rails 34
and 36 moved inwardly or outwardly of the fixture as
desired, and then the bolts 38 retightened to fix the
secondary side rails 34 and 36 in their preselected
position.
Additional box-shaped structural members 42 and
44 also are provided with bolts 38 and enlarged washers 40
for ad~ustment along cross members 30 and 32 in the same
manner described above for secondary side rails 34 and
36. The pairs of structural members 42 and 44 carry
channel members 46 and angle members 48, both of which
have upstanding flange~, as at 50, to define a first set
of locators for receiving and positioning bottom slats
52. Channel and angie members 46 and 48 are secured to
1;~98036
ATM 001 P2 -5-
structural members 42 and 44 by means of a nut and bolt
combination, with the shank of the bolt 54 extending
through the space between structural member~ 42 and 44, so
that by loo~ening the nuts and bolts angles and channel
members 46 and 48 can be moved along the structural
member~ 42 and 44 to ad~ust them to their de~ired
position, and the nut~ and bolts then tightened to fix
them in that position~
Additional angle members 56 and 58 having
upstanding flanges 60 and 62, respectively, are attached
to the structural members 42 and 44 and to an additional
structural ~ember 64 extending parallel thereto.
Upstanding flanges 60 and flanges 62 cooperating with
longitudinally extending flanges 65 define a second set of
locators for receiving, as seen in Fig. 6 of the drawings,
longitudinally extending stringers 68.
With additional reference to Fig. 9 of the
drawings, it will be seen that the secondary side rails 36
and 34 (only side rail 36 being shown ln Fig. 9), carry
guides 70, which in turn slidably receive rods 72, having
fixed thereto at their outer ends a cross brace 74, which
in turn has attached by welding or the like at each of its
outer ends, vertically slotted adjusting me~bers 76.
Slots 78 in member-~ 76 receive the shanks of bolts 80,
only one of which is shown in Fig. 9, which pas~ through
mounting bosse~ 82 secured by welding or the like to the
lower flange of angle member 84. Straps 86 interconnect
lower angle member 84 to an upper angle member 88, and the
vertical flanges of each are spaced apart a distance to
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~Zg0(~36
AT~ 001 P2 -6-
define a horizontal slot 90. Slot 90 receiveQ the shank-q
of bolts 92, only one of which is shown, which al~o pass
through angle members 94, each of which ha~ a cut-out
section 96 in it-q upper flange 98 and an outwardly
protruding, subqtantially rectangular boss 100 which i~
slidably received in the slot 90.
With this construction it will be ~een that
members 94 can be adjusted longitudinally of the fixture
with their cut-out portions 96 defining a third set of
locators for the ends of top slats 102. The vertical
slots 78 permit vertical adjustment of the third set of
locators to accommodate slats of different thicknesses and
stringers of different depth~.
The slidable mounting of the rods 72 permits the
third set of locators to be moved laterally outwardly to
facilitate loading of the bottom slats and the stringers,
and thereafter the ~hird set of locators may be moved
inwardly, as seen in ~ig. 7 of the drawing~, to permit
loading of the top slat~ 102 as seen in Fig. 8 of the
drawings.
~he main frame 12 is provided with a plurality of
brackets 104, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings,
each of which has a substantially horizontal leg 106
supporting parallel, longitudinally extending rail~ 108.
Rails 108 slidably receive supports 110 secured to lower
surfaces of the fixture 24 to permit slidable movement of
the fixture along the rails from the loading station to
the pickoff station shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.
i29~Q36
ATM 001 P2 ~7-
A chain drive, shown somewhat schematically at
112 in Fig. 1 of the drawings, }s provided, with the ends
of the chain fixed to the fixture 24 as indicated at 114
in Fiq. 2 of the drawing~ and trained over chain wheels
116, 118 and 120 and a gear 122 driven by motor 124, all
as seen in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Thus, motor 124
through the gear and chain drive described above moves the
fixture 24 along the supporting rails 108.
With continued reference to Fig. 1 of the
drawings, it will be seen that a hold-down clamp 126 may
be positioned by the piston and cylinder combination 128
to be in sliding contact with the upper surfaces of the
top slats 102 as the fixture 24 moves from the loading
station to the nailing station.
At the nailing station upper and lower sets of
nailing guns 130 and 132 are positioned to fire in unison
nails into the top and bottom slats to attacb them to the
intervening stringer~. Nailing guns 130 and 132 may be of
a type commercially available and do not per se form part
of the present invention.
~owever, as seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the
lower nailing gun~ 132 are mounted on a cross beam 134,
which is provided at its ends with internally threaded
members 136. Members 136 are in turn threadably received
2s on vertically extending threaded rods 138 which are
journaled in vertical structural member~ 16 and have
attached at their lower ends chain wheels 140, about which
is trained a chain 142. The left-hand threaded shaft 138,
as seen in Fig. ~ of the drawings, also has fixed to its
lower end a hand wheel 144, æo that upon rotation of the
hand wheel 144 both threaded shafts 138 are turned
simultaneously to effect simUltaneous raising and lowering
of all of the lower nailing guns 132.
129B036
ATM 001 P2 -8-
The upper nalling gun~ 130 are mounted on a cro~s
beam 146, which at its outer ends loosely receives
threaded shafts 148. In other words, there 1B no threaded
connection between the ends of the cross beam 146 and the
5 threaded shafts 148. 80wever, internally threaded members
150, re~trained again3t rotation, threadably engage th~
threaded shafts 148 and the outer ends of the cross beam
146 rest on the internally threaded members 150. At their
upper ends the shafts 148 are provided with chain wheels
152, about which is trained a chain 154, and the upper end
of the left-hand shaft 148 a~ seen in Fig. 2 of the
drawinqs i6 provided with a hand wheel 156, so that upon
rotation of the hand wheel 156 both members 150 will move
upwardly or downwardly, depending upon the direction of
15 rotation of the hand wheel 156, and effect raising or
lowering of all of the upper nailing guns 130.
Also fixed to the cross beam 146 are brackets 158,
each of which ~ournals a wheel 160 which engages the ùpper
surfaces of the top slats 102 as they move through the
20 nailng station to position correctly the nailing guns
with respect to the position of the top surfaces of each
of the slat~ as they move through the nailing station.
Thus~ the nailing guns are initially positioned at
approximately the correct height for the depth of the
25 palletQ to be run, and any variations from that height are
compensated for by the engagement of the top surfaces of
the slats 102 by the wheels 160, which, because the outer
ends of the cross beam 146 are unthreaded, permit all of
the gunQ to be lifted independently of the threaded
30 members 150 to accommodate variations in the thickness of
the pallet members.
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1298036
ATM 001 P2 -9-
It will also be noted from Fig. 2 of the drawings
that detection switches 162 and 164 are mounted at the
nailing station to detect the presence or absence of a
slat at the position where a slat should be located as the
pallet moves through the nailing station. If a Qlat i8
not in position to be nailed to the overlying or
underlying stringer, a~ the case may be, switches 162
and/or 164 deactivate the circuit to the nailing guns and
prevent them from being activated as they otherwise would
be in a manner to be described presently.
With reference to ~igures 2, 3, 10 and 11 of the
drawings, it will be seen that the rail 28 has mounted
thereon an upstanding, longitudinally extendinq plate
member 166, which has attached to its outer face a
plurality of relatively narrow straps 168 and somewhat
wider but thinner straps 170 by means of bolts or the like
172. This construction defines a pair of longitudinally
extending, T-shaped slots 174 that receive the heads of
bolts 176 extending through bosses 178 and threadably
receive nut~ 180 on their outer ends. The bosses 178 are
substantially cylindrical in shape, but have
straight-sided, inwardly pro~ecting portions 182 received
$n the narrower portions of the T-shaped ~lots 174. The
bgs~,es 178, may, therefore, be positioned along the rail
~28 js desired, and in fact are positioned to correspond
~~'each of the top and bottom slats carried by the fixture
24.
Mounted on the main frame 12 are upper and lower
proximity switches 184 and 186, which are o conventional
design and of the type that are actuated as each of the
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1Z98U3~
AT~ 001 P2 -10-
actuat~ng bosses 178 passes past them, and the switches
18~ and 186, through appropriate control circu~try, wh~ch
may ~e of conventional design and doe~ not per se form a
part of the present invention, trig~er tbe upper and lower
sets of nailing guns 130 and 132 at the in~tant that an
upper or lower slat, respectively, moves beneath or above,
respectively, the na~ling guns. Note, however, that even
if a signal is received from the proximity switches to
trigger the nailing guns, if the switches 162 and/or 164
do not detect a slat in position to be nailed, the circu~t
is deactivated for that particular slat and the guns will
not fire.
Following nailing of the pallet components
together, the fixture with the completed pallet moves into
the picko~f station as seen in Fig. 1 of the drawinqs. At
the pickoff station, as also seen in Fig. 3 of the
drawings, is positioned a pickoff carriage 188 mounted for
vertical movement by means of a cylinder and piston
combination 190 and carrying arms 192 adapted to move
inwardly into engagement with the leading and traillng top
slats of a completed pallet under control of a
horizontally acting pi~ton and cylinder combination 194.
It will al80 be noted f rom Figs 1 and 3 of the drawings
that the plckoff carriage 188 is provided with fixed
cam~ing fingers 196, the lower surfaces of which are
sloped upwardly and outwardly, as at 198, whereby they may
engage the upper angle members 88 (see also Fig. 9 of the
drawings), to slide the third set of top slat receiving
locators outwardly as the pickup arms move into position
to clear the fixture for removal of the pallet therefrom
upon upward movement of the carriaqe.
129B036
ATM 001 P2
~hus, aQ the fixture 24 move~ into the pickoff
- qtation the pickoff carriage descend3, cam~ing the third
set of locators outwardly and positioning the arms fo~
inward movement into engagement with lower ~uraces of the
top slats o~ the pallet, so that when the pickoff carriage
i8 thereafter raised the completed pallet i8 freed from
the fixture, permitting it to be returned to the loading
station to receive another set of botto~ 81at8~ stringer~,
and after the third set of locators are manually moved
inwardly, top slats.
Lastly, it will be noted that at either end of
the main frame 12 limit switches 200 and 202 are
positioned to terminate travel of the fixture along the
rails 108, with the downstream switch 202 also serving to
activate the motor 124, after a suitable dwell to permit
removal of a finished pallet, to return the fixture back
to the loading station.
With the above con~truction and with-the fixture
24 located at the loading station, the bottom slats 52 are
loaded into the fixture 24 utilizing the first set of
locators defined by the upstanding flanges 50. Thereafter
the stringers 68 are loaded manually using the second set
of locators defined by the upstanding flanges 60, 62 and
64. ~he third set of locators, defined by the notches 96
are then moved inwardly to the position shown in ~ig. 7 of
the drawings, and the top-slats 102 are manually loaded
into fixture 24. The system is then energized, and
through appropr$ate control circuitry, the motor 124 is
activated, driving the fixture 24 down the rails 108 and
30 past the nailing station, where the upper and lower
1298Q36
ATH 001 P2 -12-
na~ling guns 130 and 132 simultaneou31y nail each slat to
the underlying or overlying surface of all of the
stringers as each slat passes past the upper or lower bank
of nailing guns. Actuation of the nailing guns ~s
effected through passage of the actuating bo3se~ 178 past
the proximity switches 184 and 186, although, as noted
previously, if the detection switches 162 and/or 164 fail
to detect a slat in position for nailing, the firing
circuit is deactivated for that particular position.
The motor 124 drives the fixture 24 with a
continuous, non-intermittent motion down the rails 108
until the fixture trips the limit switch 202, terminating
movement of the fixture and causing the pickoff carriage
to move downwardly into position. Downward movement of
the carriage cams the third set of locators outwardly and
the pickup fingers thereafter move inwardly to engage the
skid, following which the pickup carriage moves vertically
upwardly to clear the pallet from the fixture, the fixture
returns back to the loading station, the carriage moves
downwardly again, the pickup fingers move outwardly to
release the pallet and the carriage then moves back
upwardly to its inactive position, ready for another
pallet to be moved ~nto position by the fixture.
As the fixture moves additional pallets from the
2s loading station past the nailing station and into the
pickoff station, it will slide out of the pickoff station
the previously constructed pallet deposited there by the
carriage on~o rails or other suitable conveying mechanism,
not shown, where the completed pallets will be assembled
for shipment.
i2a~3~
ATM 001 P~ -13-
Additionally, the control clrcuit~y may be set 80
that the fixture, after returning from tbe plckup 8tation~
will dwell at the loading station 80me preset lnterval of
time sufficient to permit lt to be reloadea prlor to its
S automatically proceeding through the above de~crlbed
cycle. Alternatively~ the syste~ may be set up 80 that it
i8 necessary for a cycle to be lnitlated by an operator
after the operator i8 ~atisfied that the flxture has been
properly loaded.
From the above it will be seen that the present
invention provides a system which per~its the production
of pallets on a high volume basis, but without the
neces~ity of expen~ive apparatus nor the use of exce~sive
amounts of manual labor.
While the form of apparatu~ herein described
consti~utes a preferred embodiment of this invention, it
i8 to be understood that the invention i8 not limited to
this precise form o apparatus~ and that changes may b~
made therein without departinq from the scope of the
invention whlch is defined in the appended clalms.
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