Abstract:
An end plating machine for a wood tie having opposite ends comprising a frame including horizontally spaced-apart first and second end frames with the frame including tie in-feed and out-feed portions. First and second tie dampers are positioned adjacent the first and second end frames for clamping the ends of a tie positioned therebetween. First and second power rams are mounted on the first and second end frames, respectively, for driving an end plate into the ends of the tie while the tie is being clamped by the first and second tie clampers. First and second end plate hoppers are positioned on the first end frame and third and fourth end plates hoppers are positioned on the second end frame. A movable shuttle plate is provided on each of the end frames as is a plate transporter.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to an end plating machine for a wood tie and more particularly to a machine for end plating a wood tie wherein the opposite ends of the tie are simultaneously end plated in an automatic fashion without the need of the end plates being initially hand-tacked onto the ends of the tie. More particularly, this invention relates to an improvement of the end plating machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,586. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Cross ties and switch ties for use in the railroad industry are normally formed from green wood and frequently develop splits in the ends thereof during the seasoning process. It has been found desirable and necessary to close the splits or cracks in the ends of the tie and to maintain the same in that condition by means of nail plates, dowels, S-irons, etc., to extend the useful life of the tie. Many prior art devices have been provided for squeezing or clamping the ends of a tie together and then driving a nail plate or end plate into the ends thereof. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,513,900 and 4,657,168. In the prior art plating machines identified hereinbefore, the ties are fed into the end plating machine with the end plates being initially partially hand-tacked onto the ends of the tie to maintain the end plates in position until the ends of the tie have been squeezed or clamped and the power ram has driven the end plates into the ends of the tie. The requirement that the end plates be initially partially hand-tacked onto the ends of the tie adds additional time and labor to the end plating process. 
     Applicant has previously received U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,586 which issued on Jul. 27, 1999, entitled “WOOD TIE END PLATING MACHINE”. The end plating machine of the &#39;586 patent includes a pair of spaced-apart end frames with the end frames including clamping means and power rams. A pair of end plate hoppers or stations are provided on each of the end frames with the machine having the ability to automatically end plate ties having different dimensions. The end plates are arranged in the end plate stations in a vertically stacked condition with the machine being able to transfer end plates from the hoppers, or stations, to the ends of the tie through a plate transporter assembly positioned in each of the end frames. Applicant also received U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,006,976 and 6,024,270 which are divisions of U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,586. Although the end plating machine of the &#39;586 patent works extremely well and has met with commercial success, the instant invention represents an improvement over the &#39;586 end plating machine in that the present invention is faster and more precise than the machine of the &#39;586 patent and requires less moving parts. Further, the instant invention enables the end plating of three different dimensioned ties with two different dimensioned end plates. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An end plating machine for a wood tie comprising a frame including horizontally spaced-apart first and second end frames with the frame having tie in-feed and out-feed portions. A first tie damper or squeezer is provided adjacent one of the end frames for clamping or squeezing one end of the tie positioned between the end frames. A second tie damper or squeezer is positioned adjacent the second end frame for clamping or squeezing the other end of the tie positioned between the end frames. A first power ram is mounted on the first end frame for driving an end plate into one end of the tie while the first tie damper is clamping the end of the tie positioned therein. A second power ram is mounted on the second end frame for driving an end plate into the other end of the tie while the second tie damper is clamping the other end of the tie positioned therein. First and second end plate hoppers or stations are mounted on the first end frame for supporting a plurality of end plates therein in a stacked condition. Third and fourth end plates hoppers or stations are mounted on the second end frame for supporting a plurality of end plates therein in a stacked condition. The end plates in the first and third end plate hoppers have the same dimension while the end plates in the second and fourth end plate hoppers have the same dimension with that dimension being different than the dimension of the end plates in the first and third end plate hoppers. First and second shuttle plate assemblies are movably mounted in the first and second end frames, respectively, with each of the assemblies including a magnetic shuttle plate which is selectively horizontally movable beneath the associated end plate hoppers for receiving an end plate thereon from one of the hoppers positioned thereabove. The magnetic shuttle plates may be pivotally moved from a horizontally disposed position to a vertically disposed position. Further, when the magnetic shuttle plates are in their vertically disposed condition, means is provided for horizontally moving the vertically disposed magnetic shuttle plate a small amount. 
     A plate transporter assembly is movably mounted in each of the end frames for transporting an end plate positioned on the magnetic shuttle plate, when the magnetic shuttle plate is in its vertically disposed position, to a position adjacent the associated power ram so that the power ram may drive the end plate into the end of the tie. 
     It is therefore a principle object of the invention to provide an improved end plating machine for a wood tie. 
     Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved end plating machine for a wood tie which senses different sizes of ties and which automatically supplies properly dimensioned end plates to the power rams for insertion into the ends of the tie. 
     Yet another object of the invention is to provide an end plating machine having an improved shuttle plate assembly. 
     Yet another object of the invention is to provide an end plating machine for a wood tie including a pair of shuttle plate assemblies which are more precise and faster than prior art machines and which require less moving parts. 
     These and other objects will be obvious to those skilled in the art. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the end plating machine of this invention as viewed from the out-feed side thereof; 
     FIG. 2 is a partial vertical sectional view of one of the end frames, and associated structure, of the end plating machine; 
     FIG. 3 is a partial view of the end frame of FIG. 2 illustrating the hopper closure means and the magnetic shuttle plate with the broken lines illustrating the hopper closure means in its open position and the magnetic shuttle plate in its vertically disposed position; 
     FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 except that an end plate has been positioned on the shuttle plate; 
     FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view showing the relationship of the plate hoppers and the magnetic shuttle plate; 
     FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 except that the magnetic shuttle plate is shown in a position adjacent the other plate hopper on the end frame; 
     FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 but which illustrates the shuttle plate having been moved incrementally horizontally; 
     FIG. 8 is a partial vertical sectional view illustrating the associated transporter arm positioned adjacent the vertically disposed shuttle plate and which illustrates the transporter arm having been moved to its lower position so that the end plate is positioned adjacent the end of the tie; 
     FIG. 9 is a partial vertical sectional view illustrating the manner in which the magnetic shuttle plate may be moved with respect to the two end plate hoppers on the end frame; 
     FIG. 10A is a partial sectional view similar to FIG. 9 but which shows the shuttle plate having been moved to a position beneath the other hopper on the end frame; 
     FIG. 10B is a view similar to FIG. 10A except that the shuttle plate having an end plate thereon has been pivotally moved downwardly into a vertically disposed position adjacent the transporter arm; 
     FIG. 11A is a view identical to FIG. 10B; 
     FIG. 11B is a view similar to FIG. 11A except that the shuttle plate has been moved to the left with respect to the transporter arm of FIG. 11 a ; and 
     FIG. 12 is a partial sectional view illustrating the tie eject means. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The end plating machine of this invention is referred to generally by the reference number  10  while the reference number  12  refers to an elongated wood tie which is to be end plated. The end plating machine of this invention incorporates a vast amount of the structure and technology of the end plating machine of U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,586. For purposes of discussion, tie  12  will be described as having opposite ends. Generally speaking, machine  10  includes a frame means  18  including end frames  20  and  22  which have a supporting structure  24  extending therebetween. The numeral  28  designates an in-feed conveyor for positioning the tie  12 , and successive ties, between the end frames  20  and  22  in a manner such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,900. Machine  10  is also provided with an exit-feed conveyor  26  for moving the end plated tie out of the machine  10  and for conveying the tie away from the machine. 
     Machine  10  further includes a tie squeezing or clamping apparatus  30  adjacent the inner end of end frame  20  and a tie squeezing or clamping apparatus  32  adjacent the inner end of end frame  22  for squeezing or clamping the opposite ends of the tie  12  to close splits or cracks in the tie prior to the end plating operation. The tie clamping apparatuses  30  and  32  are preferably constructed similar to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,513,900 or 4,657,168. Machine  10  also includes a pivotal tie sensing arm (not shown), generally similar to the tie sensing arm  34  of U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,586, which is pivoted by a hydraulic cylinder and which is adapted to engage the rearward end of the tie  12  to sense the thickness thereof as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,586. 
     Inasmuch as the structure on each of the end frames  20  and  22  is substantially identical, only the structure on end frame  20  will be described in detail with “′” indicating identical structure on end frame  22 . A horizontally disposed power ram  40  is mounted on end frame  22  outwardly or laterally of the end of the tie  12  when it is positioned in the tie clamping apparatus  30 . Ram  40  includes a magnetic head  42  for magnetically supporting a metal end plate thereon. For purposes of description, the numeral  44  will designate the smaller end plate handled by the machine  10  for smaller ties while the numeral  46  will designate the larger end plate for larger ties. Each of the end plates  44  and  46  includes a plurality of teeth  48  extending from one side thereof which are driven into the end of the tie as will be described in greater detail hereinafter. 
     A plurality of end plates  44  are stacked one upon the other in a horizontally disposed manner, with the teeth  48  thereof extending upwardly therefrom, in end plate hopper  50  mounted on end frame  20 . Similarly, a plurality of end plates  46  are positioned in end plate hopper  52 . The lower ends of hoppers  50  and  52  are open so as to be able to permit the passage of successive plates from the lower end thereof. Hoppers  50  and  52  are provided with hopper closure assemblies  60  and  62  while hoppers  50 ′ and  52 ′ are provided with hopper closure assemblies  60 ′ and  62 ′, respectively. Inasmuch as all of the hopper closure assemblies are identical, only assembly  60  will be described in detail with “′” identifying identical structure on the other hopper assemblies. Hopper closure assembly  60  includes a pair of arms  64  and  66  which are pivoted to the supporting structure of hopper  50  at  68  and  70 , respectively. Arm  66  is pivotally connected to hydraulic cylinder  72  at  74  as seen in FIG.  4 . Arm  66  is provided with a “knuckle”  76  which is movably received by opening  78  in arm  64  so that pivotal movement of arm  66  will cause pivotal movement of arm  64 , as illustrated in the drawings. Arms  64  and  66  have a plurality of fingers  80  and  82  extending inwardly therefrom, respectively, which are designed to close the lower end of hopper  50  when in the position of FIG.  4  and to aid in separating the stack of end plates  44  in hopper  50  from the end plate being discharged from the lower end of hopper  50 , as will be described in more detail hereinafter, and which is identical to that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,586. 
     The numeral  84  refers to a shuttle plate assembly which is mounted in end frame  20 . An identical shuttle plate assembly is also mounted in end frame  22 . The shuttle plate assembly  84  of this invention replaces the plate elevator assembly described and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,586. Shuttle plate assembly  84  includes a horizontally disposed, splined shaft  86  which is mounted in end frame  20  so as to be in a horizontally disposed position, as illustrated in FIG.  5 . Support  88  is longitudinally slidably mounted on shaft  86  by means of power cylinder  90  which may be an air cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder. Cylinder  90  is pivotally connected to support  88  at  92 . The numeral  94  refers to a horizontally disposed shaft which is mounted in end frame  20  adjacent shaft  86  and which is parallel thereto. Sleeve  96  is rotatably mounted on shaft  94  and is rotatable about its axis by means of a rotary actuator  98  operatively secured to one end thereof. Sleeve  96  rotatably extends through the outer end of support  88 , as seen in FIG.  5 . The numeral  100  refers to a shuttle plate including a magnetic plate portion  102 . Shuttle plate  100  is affixed to the sleeve  96  so that rotation of sleeve  96  by the motor  98  causes the shuttle plate  100  to be pivotally moved from the horizontally disposed position, as seen in FIG. 3, to the vertically disposed position illustrated in FIG. 3 by broken lines and by solid lines in FIG.  4 . 
     A power cylinder  104  such as a hydraulic cylinder or an air cylinder is pivotally connected at one end to the end frame  20  at  106 . The rod end of the cylinder  104  is pivotally connected to a manually length adjustable link  106  at  108 , as seen in FIG.  5 . The lower end of link  106  is fixed to a shaft  110  which has an arm  112  secured thereto for rotation therewith. The outer end of arm  112  is pivotally connected to the cylinder  90  at  114 . When cylinder  90  is extended, the support  88  longitudinally moves on the shaft  86  from the position of FIG. 5 to the position of FIG.  6 . When the support  88  is in the position of FIG. 5, the shuttle plate  100  is positioned adjacent hopper  50 . When the support  88  is in the position of FIG. 6, the shuttle plate  100  is positioned adjacent hopper  52 . When the shuttle plate portion  102  is in its horizontally disposed position, the shuttle plate  102  will be positioned beneath hopper  50  when cylinder  90  is retracted and shuttle plate portion  102  will be beneath hopper  52  when cylinder  90  is extended. When the magnetic plate portion  102  is in its vertically disposed position, as seen in FIG. 2, extension of the cylinder  84  causes the support  88  to be moved slightly on the shaft  86 , since the arm  112  will cause cylinder  90  to move slightly, thereby also moving the support  88  slightly. The purpose of such movement will be described in detail hereinafter. 
     The numeral  116  refers to a plate transporter assembly which is movably mounted in end frame  20 . A plate transporter assembly is also mounted on end frame  22 . The plate transporter assemblies  116  are identical to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,586. Plate transporter assembly  116  includes a transporter arm  118  mounted on the end of a selectively rotatable shaft  120 . The plate transporter arm  118  may be rotatably moved from the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 8 to the lowered position also shown in FIG.  8 . When the arm  118  is in the upper position illustrated in FIG. 8, the upper end thereof will be normally positioned slightly inwardly of the magnetic plate portion  102  having the end plate magnetically secured thereto, as illustrated by broken lines in FIG.  4 . The outer end of arm  118  has a plurality of openings formed therein which are adapted to receive the teeth  48  of the plate, as will be described hereinafter. The shaft  120  is horizontally movable so that the transporter arm  118  can be moved to the left from the dotted line position of FIG. 4 towards the magnetic plate portion  102  so that the teeth of the end plate are received in the openings in the transporter arm  118  to attach the end plate to the arm  118 . When the arm  118  is in its lower position, the shaft  120  is again horizontally movable to permit the end plate to be transferred from the arm  118  to the power ram, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,586. 
     Prior to the beginning of the end plating operation, the various components of the machine are in the position illustrated in FIG. 1. A tie  12  is delivered to the in-feed conveyor  28  and is delivered to the plating machine following the end plating of a preceding tie  12 . The tie moves forward on the in-feed conveyor  28  until tie  12  engages switch  130  and comes to rest against stop  132 . A tie sensing arm (not shown) similar to the tie sensing arm  34  in U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,586 is then pivotally moved until it engages the rearward side of the tie  12 . The tie sensing arm senses the dimension of the tie being end plated and that can be any one of three dimensions. For purposes of description, the numeral  12 A will refer to the smallest tie to be end plated while the numeral  12 B will identify a tie having a dimension between the tie of  12 A and the  12 C tie. The end plates  44  are driven into the ends of the tie  12 A. The end plates  46  are driven into the ends of the ties  12 B or  12 C, with the end plates  46  being centered between the leading and trailing edges of the ties  12 B and  12 C. 
     The end plating machine, after sensing whether a tie  12 A,  12 B or  12 C has been delivered to the end plating machine, will position the tie between the tie clamping assemblies  30  and  32 . The tie clamping apparatus  30  and the clamping apparatus  32  will squeeze or clamp the ends of the tie to close any splits or cracks therein. Inasmuch as the end plating operation at each end of the tie is identical, only the end plating operation at one end of the tie will be described in detail. Assuming that a smaller tie  12 A has been sensed, the power cylinder  90  is retracted so that the shuttle plate  100  is positioned in the position illustrated in FIG. 5 with respect to the hopper or station  50 . If the magnetic shuttle plate portion  102  is not in its horizontally disposed position, the rotary actuator  98  will be activated to rotate shaft  94  so that the magnetic shuttle plate  102  is positioned beneath the hopper closure assembly  60  and the fingers  80  and  82  thereof which are maintaining the end plates  44  in the hopper  50  at this time. The hopper closure assembly  60  is then opened by pivoting the arms  64  and  66  outwardly with respect to one another so that the lowermost plate  44  in hopper  50  drops onto the horizontally disposed magnetic shuttle plate portion  102 . The hopper closure assembly  60  is then operated to pivot the arms  64  and  66  towards one another which causes the fingers  80  and  82  to move between the end plate supported on the magnetic shuttle plate portion  102  and the end plate immediately thereabove, thereby separating the end plate on the magnetic shuttle plate portion  102  from the other end plates  44  in the hopper  50 . 
     The rotary actuator  98  is then operated to cause the shuttle plate portion  102  to pivotally move from its horizontally disposed position to its vertically disposed position. Cylinder  90  is then extended to cause the support  88  and the shuttle plate  100  to move horizontally to a position adjacent the opposite end of the sleeve  96 . At that time, the end plate  44  will be properly aligned with the transporter arm  118  which will be in the dotted line position of FIG.  4 . The shaft  120  of plate transporter assembly  116  is then moved towards the left, as viewed in FIG. 4, so that the teeth  48  of the end plate  44  will pass into the openings in the outer end of arm  118 . The reception of the teeth  48  in the openings formed in the outer end of arm  118  causes the end plate  44  to be firmly grasped by the plate transporter arm  118 . At that time, the transporter arm  118  will be lowered by shaft  120  so that the end of the transporter arm  118  is positioned adjacent the magnetic portion  42  of the power ram  40 . When the end plate  44  has been magnetically adhered to the magnetic head  42 , the shaft  120  is moved to the right so that the plate transporter arm  118  separates from the plate  44  with the plate  44  remaining on the power ram. The plate transporter arm  118  is then pivotally moved out of the way of the power ram and the power ram is extended to drive the end plate  44  into the end of the tie. 
     If a tie having the dimension of tie  12 B is sensed, the same end plate  46  will be utilized as on the tie  12 C. However, the use of the end plate  46  on the tie  12 B requires some adjustment of the end plate on the shuttle plate portion  102  so that the end plate  46  will be properly positioned with respect to the end of the tie  12 B. Once the plate  46  has been magnetically adhered to the shuttle plate portion  102  and the shuttle plate portion  102  has been pivoted to its vertically disposed position, the cylinder  104  is slightly automatically extended so that the link  106  is rotated in a clockwise direction, as illustrated in FIG. 7, which causes the support  88  and the shuttle plate  100  to be incrementally moved in the direction of the arrow on sleeve  96 . The slight horizontal movement of the vertically disposed shuttle plate portion  102  and the end plate  46  thereon changes the position of the end plate  46  with respect to the plate transporter arm  118 . Thus, when the transporter arm  118  delivers the end plate  46  to the power ram for use on a  12 B tie, the end plate  46  will be positioned slightly differently on the power ram so that the end plate  46  will be driven into the end of the tie  12 B in such a manner so that the end plate  46  will be centered thereon, as illustrated in FIG.  12 . 
     Although it is preferred that two plate hoppers be positioned on each of the end frames, the machine will also function with only a single plate hopper on each end frame. However, in such a construction, the machine would not have the ability to end plate three different sizes of ties with two different sizes of end plates. 
     Thus it can be seen that applicant has provided an improved end plating machine over that previously described in his earlier patents in that fewer components are required, the operation is more precise and permits the use of three different dimensioned ties to be end plated with only two different dimensioned end plates with the end plates being centered in the ends of the various dimensioned ties. 
     Thus, it can been seen that the invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.