Patent ID: 11858759
Assignee: 9374-4399 QUEBEC INC.
Field: Handling (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 16:
17. A stick distributing unit for use in a stick laying apparatus for laying a plurality of spacer sticks over a board layer, comprising:
a frame defining a stick-receiving area adapted to receive the plurality of spacer sticks in a stack and defining a release path to dispense the plurality of spacer sticks thereof;
a hold-and-release mechanism operatively coupled to the frame, the hold-and-release mechanism being adapted to selectively dispense the spacer sticks from the stick-receiving area one at a time along the release path, the hold-and-release mechanism comprising:
a first holding member operable to selectively hold and release a bottommost stick of the stack;
a second holding member operable to selectively hold and release a penultimate stick of the stack; and
a controller configured to define a stick dispensing routine comprising the steps of:
a) operating the first holding member to engage and hold the bottommost stick;
b) operating the second holding member to engage and hold the penultimate stick;
c) operating the first holding member to disengage the bottommost stick to release the bottommost stick from the stick-receiving area;
d) quickly releasing and re-engaging the second holding member with the penultimate stick, thereby creating a knock on the penultimate stick; and
e) cyclically repeating steps a) to c) with remaining sticks from the plurality of spacer sticks;

a stick-laying mechanism configured to receive the bottommost stick from the hold-and-release mechanism and deposit the same over the board layer.