Patent GB-1268797-A (GB)
Title: Machine for depositing slabs
Inventor: KAMPER ANDREW MATHIS
IPC: B65G47/91
Filed: 1969-10-17
Abstract: 1,268,797. Machine for depositing slabs on pallets. PREMIER STONE CO. Ltd. 18 Sept., 1970 [17 Oct., 1969], No. 51145/69. Headings B8C and B8H. A machine for picking up slabs 52 one by one from a transfer station and depositing them in a row on a pallet 79 at a receiving station comprises a carriage 15 which is mounted, by means of rollers 10, in channel guides 14 of a machine frame 12 for reciprocal movement, by a doubleacting cylinder 16, between a retracted position above the transfer station and selected advanced positions above the pallet at the receiving station and which pivotally supports, from depending side members 25, 25<SP>1</SP>, a carrier 37 which has a spring-loaded suction head 46 and which is swingable, by a pair of cylinders 33, downwardly and forwardly, from a raised position where it is retracted beneath the carriage 15 with the head 46 facing downwards, to a lowered position in which the suction head 46 is disposed vertically and faces forwards. The carrier 37 is carried by a pair of arms 29 connected to a shaft 27 which is rotatably mounted between the side members 25, 25<SP>1</SP> and which has fixed thereto a lever 36 pivotally connected to the rods 34 of the cylinders 33. A selector shaft 66, which is rotatable in steps, determines the selected advanced positions of the carriage 15 so that the distance of advance of the carriage during each successive reciprocating movement of a series of movements equal to the number of slabs to be deposited on the pallet, is reduced by an amount slightly greater than the thickness of the slabs. The selector shaft carries a number of pegs such as 77, 81-84, which are spaced, at uniform intervals slightly greater than the width of a slab and which are equi-angularly spaced around the shaft. The latter is rotatable in steps during last parts of the retraction strokes of the carriage 15 by a cylinder 74, which acts through an arm 71 and pawl-and-ratchet gear 69, to place each peg in turn, beginning from the peg nearest the front of the machine, in the path of an abutment 62 at the rear end of the carriage 15 and arrest the successive forward traverses of the carriage at the appropriate position over the pallet 79. If it is desired to deposit a different number of slabs on the pallet, the assembly, comprising the selector shaft 66, pawl-and-ratchet gear 69 and actuating arm 71, is replaced by an assembly having a number of pegs and a ratchet mechanism correspondingly adapted to the new number of slabs. The carrier 37 is retainable in a raised position beneath the carriage 15 by means of a spring-loaded catch 56 having an operating arm 55, the operation of the machine being controlled by an arrangement comprising seven pneumatic valve units 101-108, Fig. 6, not shown. The spring-loaded suction head 46 comprises an upper pressing 37 and a plate structure 39, 46 which is supported by studs 41 which project, at their upper ends through openings in the pressing 37 and carry adjustable nuts 42, 43 for varying the compression of springs 49, each of which surrounds a stud 41 and is constrained between the pressing 37 and the plate structure 39, 46. The latter carries a plate 49 which slidably engages the front end of the pressing 37. The plate 46 of the structure 39, 46 carries a rubber sealing strip 51 which provides a hollow space 53 which is supplied with suction applying means. The space 53 may be subdivided by cross-strips of rubber.