Patent ID: 6782991
Filing Date: 2004-08-31
Classification: B65G

Abstract:
Board turner intended for use on a conveyor for transporting boards in which the conveyor defines a carrying plane for supporting the boards and a rotation path, the board turner comprises:(a) means of rotation having a rotation axis; and (b) means of gripping mounted on the means of rotation, the means of gripping is arranged at a lateral distance from the conveyor and exhibits a rotation path defining a plane that is essentially parallel to a plane that is defined by the rotation path of the conveyor, the rotation path of the means of gripping extends above and below the carrying plane of the conveyor, the means of gripping has an open position and a closed position and is switchable between these positions in response to a signal from a sensor in which, in the open position, the means of gripping rotates past the carrying plane of the conveyor without coming into contact with a synchronously arriving board and by which means during operation a signal from the sensor switches the means of gripping between the open position and the closed position while the means of gripping rotates upward and in line with the synchronously arriving board while gripping two opposite surfaces of a laterally extending part of the board, whereby the means of gripping continues rotating above the conveyor to thereby turn the board and subsequently release the board back onto the conveyor in response to a second signal that switches the means of gripping from the closed position to the open position.