Patent GB-1329809-A (GB)
Title: Method and apparatus for dehacking brick
IPC: B65G59/02
Filed: 1972-03-15
Abstract: 1329809 De-stacking bricks FORREST PASCHAL MACHINERY CO 15 March 1972 [22 March 1971] 11961/72 Heading B8C Each stack of a plurality of stacks of fired bricks S on a kiln car 12, comprises a plurality of alternating header and stretcher orientated courses C formed of a plurality of laterallyspaced rows R, spaces being provided between the horizontally adjacent bricks in each row and the vertically adjacent bricks having their confronting face sides in coextensive engagement, and is destacked by a method which comprises removing successive courses from the stack so that each course removed from an upper portion of the stack is paired with a course removed from the remaining, lower portion and the double-layer rows of each of the paired courses are in longitudinal alignment. Successive aligned double-layer rows are then separated, as individual double-layer units, from the paired courses and the upper layer of each separated double-layer unit is inverted and longitudinally aligned with the other lower layer of the unit to form a single layer line of rowblended bricks each having their face sides extending in the same direction. As shown, a kiln car 12 is halted so that a leading pair of stack s  S are accessible to a vertically, transversely, and longitudinally, movable, transfer gripping- and compacting-head 30 which is movable along frames 30, 80 and which is rotatable about a vertical axis 34. The head 30 is adapted to transfer each stack, a course at a time, on to an input conveyer C, the first four courses of each eight course stack being first transferred and carried by the conveyer 14, up to a strip plate 38 on a pusher apparatus 22, 33 which is located in the remoter of two positions. In this manner the pusher 22, 33 can transfer each course, in turn, on to one 18<SP>1</SP> of a pair of roller conveyers 18, 18<SP>1</SP>, Alternate courses of the stack are planar rotated, by the head 30, through an angle of 90 degrees so that the rows R of doublelayer bricks from successive courses are longitudinally aligned on the conveyer 14. A pusher plate 44, pivotally mounted on a reciprocable carriage 40, and in its lowered operative position, transfers the courses of bricks towards the right, Fig. 1, and on to a discharge platform 26. The lower four courses of the stack are similarly deposited on to the input conveyer 14 and are transferred on to the roller conveyer 18 by the pusher apparatus 22, 33, which is now located at its forwardmost position, a pivoted plate 44, in its lowered, operative, position, on a reciprocable carriage 41, conveying the lower courses along the roller conveyer 18 and on to the platform 26. The endmost aligned pairs of double-layer rows R on the platform 26 are gripped by a clamping assembly 28 which moves forward to align the rows longitudinally, and slightly above, a delivery conveyer 16. In this position the upper layer of each row in the pair is gripped by a second clamping assembly 30 whereupon the clamping assembly 28 releases the lower layers of the rows which drop on to the moving conveyer 16. The clamping assembly 30 then rotates the two upper layers of bricks through an angle of 180 degrees and deposits them, in line, behind the layers already on the conveyer 16 which conveys all of the rows, face upwards, out of the apparatus. After the first pair of stacks have been unloaded from the car 12, the latter is moved forward half a length so that the rear pair of stacked bricks S can be unstacked, whereupon the car 12<SP>1</SP> is moved out of the apparatus beneath the conveyer 16.