US2476371A - Strip handling device - Google Patents

Description

July 19, 1949; s. .I-IAUMANN 7 71 STRIP HANDLING DEVICE Filed March 22, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fzlg. 5.

IN V EN TOR.

July 19, 1949.

Filed March 22, 1944 G. HAUMANN STRIP HANDLING DEVICE 5 Sheets-Shet 2 July 19, 1949. e. HAUMANN STRIP HANDLING DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 22, 1944 July 19, 1949.

G. HAUMANN STRIP HANDLING DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March-22, 1944 'IIIIIIIIII.

I re ssure Afr III/1117171711111 'II/I/IIIIIIIIIIIIIII.

July 19, 1949. HAUMANN 2,476,371

STRIP HANDLING DEVICE Filed March 22. 194-4 5 ShegetS-Sheet 5 Patented July 19, 1949 UNITED STATES JEderer Engineering Company, Seattle, 'EWnSh a corporation of Washington Application March 22, 1944, 'Serial'No. 527,588

9 Claims. 1

This invention relates to the handling of :the veneer strips 'used as plies in the production :of plywood, and .has particular reference-to theoperation of sorting and stacking these veneer strips after the same leave-the clipper.

The nature of the .invention will probably :be best comprehended byshere further and cursoriiy outlining the procedure of sorting and stacking as it has been heretofore practiced in the :plywood industry and, in giving significance :thereto, havingigeneral reference to the plywood stock in its various stages-of'treatment preliminary :ito such sortin and stacking. Thelog from which the plies are obtained 'is,:o'f course, first subjected to apeeling action-progressively reducing the log into a thin sheet or sheets of extended-length successively running to sap, heart, :and center wood, and thesesheets are fed .from the fpeeler to storage -racks. Qperators draw from these storage racks moreor less at random, ;feeding the green veneer ontoan endless conveyor, and the sheets are carried by the conveyor to the referred-to clipper. .-It becomes ztheiduty of the operator-of this clipping machine to cut the strayelling sheet transversely into various-width strips, the purpose being to cut the same into convenient sizes of which the grade of the wood throughout each independent strip :15 more or less uniform and, in instances where flaws are present rendering a particular section unfit .for use, cutting out a stripcontaining the flaw and with as little loss of usable adjoining material as possible. .Thus, thereemerges fromthe clipper a minimum .of three distinct grades ,of usable veneer strips;namely sap, heart, and center wood-in vadclitionto the scrap pieceshand it becomes importantthat these usable stripsbe sorted prior to their introduction .to the drying kilns in that the idiffering grades require different drying periods. Ithasrbeen the prevailing practice to deliver the clipped piecesonto-a sorting table, wherefrom the same are selectively {I'fimoved byhand .and stacked upon trucks in accordance with the selection, a procedure which requires a comparatively large crew -and has the further objectionof causing considerable loss by damage'due to the frailty of the highly flexible greenstock.

The present invention .aims to devise .a new method substantially eliminating the ,need ,-.for

manual handling of the green veneer strips, and a machine .for practicing the method, whichadmits of .being easily controlle.d Joy a single .individual to effectively .handle the entire output cf the f.c1ipper," and whichlisaoftsuch ntnature-as *2 to substantiallyaeliminateflamage-to the plywood stock.

In the accomplishment of the foregoin and other related ends, and'whic'h will appear and be understood in :the course of the following description and claims, the invention consists in the new sorting and stacking method, and in the novelconstruction, adaptation and combination of the :parts of a machine for performing said method illustrated in the accompanying drawings, particularly described with reference thereto. and. finally set forth in the appended claims.

:Insaiddrawings:

. Figures 1 andfl are top plan :views, somewhat schematic, and which, taken together, represent a machine iconstructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment {of "the :present invention.

Figs. 1.3 and 4 are :similarlyschematic longitudina-l yertical sections thereof.

the f :is :a fragmentary longitudinal vertical section aken to :an enlarged scale Jon line 15-15 of Fig. :1 to illustrate the endless-chain andassociated governorekeys employed as .a travelling control board tforithemachine, this view disclosing one -.of a :number 501' switches related to -.the control board and -zdiagramming the leads :from an electrical circuit which acts upon a closingof the switch to {transmit .an actuating impulse to an -electrically.:operated responding unit, the circuits including the responding unit bein .independent tor each 10f the said several switches.

Fig, ;6 1 1553 fragmentary top plan view of said control-board.

Big. :is a fragmentary tview, partly in elevation iandrhartl in section, and which, taken with Fig. '5, portrays extensions of the said leads and the responding unit associated therewith, such unit .asiit is illustrated .inzthis yiewsbeing shown applied @toagate valve :for governing the delivery of pressurevair as:-an-ele.ct.e.d one-of a number of instrumentalities applicable to the invention as a means of lifting the green strips of .veneer :irom a .lowerelevel .to an upper-level conveyor and by such lifting periorming the sortingoffice of the invention.

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal vertical section taken to an enlarged scale on line i8--8 of Fig. 16 to detail one of the selector or governing keys of thetravelling-controllboard, I

.-FLi g. :9 is a fragmentary longitudinal yertical section taken to anienlat ged scale-on line 9-4! .of Fig. 1 to detail the manner-in which pressure :air is applied to lift the plywood stripstrom lowerlevel to an unnerfievel conveyor.

Fig. is a similar view illustrating another example of an instrumentality suitable for accomplishing a lifting of the strips from a lower-level to a. selected upper-level conveyor and which, in more particularity, shows an elevator of a mechanical nature as distinguished from the physical force of an air jet.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary side elevational view of one of a severalty of stacking compartments to which the strips of plywood. stock are fed by the upper-level conveyors, the view embodying a dotted-line showing of a part of a related truck which receives the strips upon their delivery into the compartment and which is given vertical movement automatically maintaining the top of the stack on an approximately constant level.

Fig. 12 is a transverse vertical-section on broken line 12-42 of Fig. 11; and

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical section taken to an enlarged scale to detail the control arm which is represented in elevation in Fig 12 and incorporating a showing of a responsive switch which, for simplicity in illustration, is deleted from the other views of the drawing, this switch acting upon a reversing electric motor to energize and tie-energize the latter for descending movements of the truck. Included in this view is a diagram of an electric circuit indicating the electric motor and including a second and manually operated switch operative to reverse the motor for giving a rising movement to the truck.

Referring to said drawings, the numeral 26 designates the feed conveyor which passes below the clipper 2| and, following the action of the latter, delivers usable strips of green veneer, as ps, and the scrap strips $8, to a following conveyor denoted by 22, these strips, and which is thought to be self-evident, being delivered in the order of their occurrence. There is provided an open area above the head end of such following conveyor to serve as an inspection space, and at the lower" limit of this inspection space there is provided a series (three being shown) of upperlevel conveyors having their heads or leading ends removed a distance above said following or inspection conveyor sufiicient to admit of free passage of the strips therebelow. These lastnamed conveyors, denoted by 23, 24, and 25 and hereinafter referred to as the sorting conveyors, are so disposed that the head end of the second such conveyor occupies a position longitudinally spaced below the head end'of the first sortin conveyor, and with the third sorting conveyor similarly spaced below the said second conveyor, and in compensation thereof thesesorting conveyors angle upwardly in their initiating travel one above the other in generally parallel planes.

I employ, in forming my inspection conveyor, a plurality of comparatively narrow endless belts disposed in spaced side-by-side relation, and have indicated the feed and sorting conveyors as being of a similar type, providing for each of said belt assemblies the usual live and idler rollers and driving the same in any desired manner as, for example, by chain-and-sprocket (not shown) at speeds which, by preference, are successively stepped. This is to say that the feed conveyor travels, say, at 135 ft. per minute, the inspection conveyor 150 F. P. M., and the sorting conveyors 200 F. P. M., the purpose thereof being understood in the course of hereinafter tracing the operation of the equipment.

Completing the description of the general layout of the conveyors, the arrangement is such that the inspection conveyor discharges at its tail end into a scrap bin 26, and each of the sorting conveyors discharges into a respective stacking compartment, as 21, 28 and 29, hereinafter described.

There is provided as a complement to each of the sorting conveyors a short endless belt or belts 23, 24, and 25', respectively, hereinafter referred to as lead-in belts, carried by the usual live and idler rollers and characterized in that the same run at a travelling speed corresponding to that of the sorting conveyors and occupy positions at the head end above and in lapping relation to the upper runs of the latter. In mounting these lead-in belts, the live rollers, as 39, lie foremost and are axially fixed in relation to the frame of the machine, and the idler rollers iii are given journal mountings in the free ends of radius-arms 32 supported for vertical swinging movement about the center of the live roller as an ax1s.

I have made no reference to the frame-Work of the machine, and it is believed unnecessary so to do other than to point out that I have illustrated a bed-plate 33 applied as a sustaining floor below the upper run of the inspection conveyor. From the standpoint of supporting the strips, it becomes unnecessary to sustain the belts due to the fact of the grain running transversely in the veneer strips and giving comparative stability in this direction, but the feature of sustaining the belts by a bed-plate or its equivalent in rollers is of advantage in preventing sagging and thus maintaining a given spacing between the inspection conveyor and the upper-level s0rting conveyors.

Now proceeding to describe the means which I provide by which to lift the travelling plywood strips from the inspection conveyor and introduce the same to a selected said sorting conveyor, and as detailed in Figs. 5 through 9, inclusive, the invention comprehends the use of a control board which, in its illustrated and preferred form, is comprised of trains of selector keys 34 supported by and movable with the links 35 of an endless chain 35, the chain working about sprocket wheels 37 and occupying a position alongside the inspection conveyor to extend from the head end thereof and to a point somewhat beyond the head end of the lowermost sorting conveyor 25, and with its travelling speed corresponding to the speed of the inspection conveyor. These trains correspond as to number with the number of sorting conveyors used, the control board as it would apply to my elected showing of three sorting conveyors being thus one which would present three trains of selector keys. The keys of the respective trains are longitudinally aligned, and each link, desirably, carriers one key of each of these three trains. The said keys are in the nature of headed buttons slidably mounted for vertical movements into and from positions exposing the stems 34' below the underside of the chain links, and related to each of the three trains in the path of travel of a depressed stem are circuit-closing switches of respective normally open electric circuits including, for each circuit, a suitable electrically responsive unit such as the indicated electromagnetic device comprised of a solenoid coil 38 and related movablearmature 4B.

These said switches are placed below the upper run of the chain in transverse alignment with the head ends of the several sorting conveyor,

and which is to say that one of said switches related to one train: of keys is transversely aligned with the head end of one sorting conveyor, another of said switches related to a second said train of keys is transversely aligned with the head end of another said sorting conveyor, and the third switch which is related to the remaining train of keys transversely aligned with the head end of the third sorting conveyor. In the form in which shown, the switches are comprised of a fixed base plate 4! acting as one and a movable upper plate 52 acting as the other of the two circuit-closing terminals and so arranged, by the tracking of a depressed stem 34 uponthe upper plate, as to hold the circuit closed throughout the period necessary for the leading edge of a plywood strip to traverse the length of a lead-in belt, the switch being opened by a spring 43 upon its release from the depressive influence of the exposed stem and the latter being elevated into its normal inoperative position by following passage about the tail sprocket wheel.

Controlled by and made operative upon the magnetizing of a selected said armature through means such as the indicated gate valve 44- (Fig. 7), pressure air is caused to be delivered from a pressure manifold 45 into branch pipes 46 related to respective sorting conveyors, these branch pipes lying below the inspection belts in the vertical planes of' the lead-in belts and being perforated along the top to project air jets upwardly through suitable slots 41 cut in the bedlate 33 and against the underside of the advance edge of a travelling veneer strip. The advance edge is hence lifted off the inspection belt and against the lower run of the selected lead-in belt 23', 24, or 25, as the case maybe, and by the influence of the latter fed into the pick-up mouth described between the principal belt of the related sorter and the lapping tail end of the superposed lead-in belt, the lifted plywood strip a severalty of positively driven endless belts 50 a working in the spaces between the inspection belts 22 and travelling at a speed which, by preference, would correspond to that of the lead-in belts. Disposed to have their upper runs normally flush with or perhaps slightly below the upper level of the inspection conveyor, such ramp-forming belts are swingably mounted in much the same manner as "the lead-in belts excepting that, and as distinguished from the floating movement of the tail "end of the latter, the swing is appreciably greater and is controlled from the switches of the control board with the related solenoid-and-arm'ature of the electromagnet, as 5!, being shackled by links 52 to an extension 53 prolonged from one of the radiusarms M. A suitable bumper is or may be .pro vided to cushion the gravity-drop of said rampforming belt into the normal position shown by dotted lines.

From the foregoing it will, it is believed, be clearly understood that an operator-standing at the head end of the inspection conveyor. at a point proximate to the control board-can readily determine the nature of the veneer; strips passing before him, the stepped-up speed of the inspection conveyor as compared with the travel of the feed conveyor producing spaces between the successive strips. Presuming that the innermost train of selector keys operates the switch which controls the lift mechanism of the first sorting conveyor, and with the middle and outside trains being respectively applicable to the switches which control the lift mechanisms of the second and the third sorting conveyors, and further. presuming that it is desired to direct sap. heart, and center wood into the first, second, and third sorting conveyors, respectively, the operator notes, say, that the veneer strip which is then approaching him is heart wood. He then depresses, from the middle train of selector keys, the button thereof which is aligned, or approximately aligned, considered transversely, with the leading edge of the travelling strip. Should the succeeding strip be similarly heart wood, and the next strip sap wood, a similar action is performed in which he would first press another'of the keys of the middle train and then press a key from the inner train, selecting the key in each instance which approximately lines up with the leading edge of the particular strip which is to be sorted. Upon the appearance of a scrap strip, the operator permits the same to pass without depressing any selector key.

As the said inspected strips proceed in their travel with the conveyor 22 and reach the sorting conveyor which has been selected therefor, the corresponding progress of the depressed key related thereto will have brought the key into tracking engagement with the related switch, the circuit of this switch being then closed to energize the respective electromagnet and the lifting action which has been described thereupon takes place. As the scrap strip proceeds-the keys transversely aligned therewith being in their normal elevated positions-the several lifting mechanisms will be held inactive as the scrap strip passes thereover, and the conveyor 22 will discharge the same from its tail end into the scrap bin.

It may be here stated, and while not illustrated, that it is desirable to provide a sustaining walk-way for the upper run of the chain. This walk-way is or may be comprised of angle irons applied along each side of the chain and supporting the lateral edges thereof to give a footing to the chain links enabling the keys to be readily depressed by the operator. The keys may be held in both their elevated and depressed posi tions by friction alone, a bullet catch, however, being indicated as a means of yieldingly retaining the same in their depressed positions and which said bullet catch is readily overpowered by the camming action of the tail sprocket wheel as the depressed keys approach and pass about the same.

Now proceeding to describe the invention as it pertains to the stacking of the sorted usable veneer strips, there is provided for each of the sorting conveyors at the respective tail. end thereof the stacking compartments 21, 28, and 29 hereinbefore mentioned. Introduced in each of these stacking compartments and receiving guiding support from posts 56 are elevator assemblies comprised of angle-iron members 51 extending transversely of the compartment along the front and back walls thereof, and which are raised and lowered in unison-considering the two angleiron members of each compartment-by sustaining cables to. The ledge-platforms providedby these two complementing members 51 "underlie and support the side edges of a wheeled truck 6|.

Said cables are paired and lead from windingdrulms 62 over guide-pulleys 63 to the two ends of respective said members or platforms and extending between and connecting the two winding-drums of each compartment is a shaft 64 driven from a chain 65 which is in turn powered through reduction gearing from a reversing electric motor 66, there being one such motor and its associated two winding-drums driven in concert thereby for each of the several stacking compartments. To drive (this motor in a direction causing rising movement of the elevator platforms I employ a manually operated switch 6'! (Fig. 13), shown as being of the double-pole type, and to operate the motor in the opposite directiomand which is to say for lowering the elevator plastforms, I indicate a double-pole tumbler switch 88 made automatically responsive to the level of the related stack of plywood stock, the arrangement shown being one in which oppositely acting fingers Git-19 are carried upon a reciprocally movable arm H pivoted as at 1 I to have its free end extend in a longitudinal direction into overlying relation to the delivered stack of strips and on a level more or less corresponding to the horizontal plane of discharge of the strips into the stacking compartment. This is to say that the finger 8!! throws the tumbler over center and closes the switch upon a given rise of the control arm II, and that the finger m is thereupon brought into action to reverse the movement of the tumbler and open the switch as the motor responds to the closed circuit and lowers the stack level a predetermined degree. 72 denotes a limit-slto-p for the arm H.

It is thought that the stacking operation will have been clearly understood from the foregoing. However, to trace same, and assuming that the compartments are empty, with the elevators occupying positions at the lower extreme .of their travel, the wheeled trucks are run into the several compartments locating their side edges above the ledge-platforms and the operator then closes the switch 67 of the respective motor circuits and raises each truck to a point where the receiving surface thereof occupies a horizontal plane slightly below the point of delivery :of the strips from the related sorting conveyor. Such switch 67 is then opened, in the instance of each such motor circuit, and the stacking compartments are ready to receive the sorted strips of usable plywood stock. Being given a comparatively high travelling speed, {the strips as they are delivered from the tail ends of the several sorting conveyors carry forward onto the trucks with little or no tendency of the leading edges to sag and are protected against the damage which would occur were the same allowed to drop any appreciable distance. As the stack builds up, the uppermost strip presses against the control arm 'H and the latter, upon being raised a given distance, closes the motor circuit to eiiectua te a lowering of the elevator platforms and the stack-carrying truck sustained thereby. The arm, dropping in accordance with the stack level, then opens the circuit and the lowering actionv stops. This starting and stopping of the motor continues intermittently until the truck reaches floor level, whereupon the same is wheeled out of the lCOIIlpartment and another enrpty truck brought into the same, and the described operation is repeated.

In order that the travelling moment of the conveyors 23, 24, and 25 may be maintained upon a conveyed strip of the plywood stock until the following edge of the latter has cleared the tail end ,of the'conveyor, it is desirable and I illustrate the tail rollers of the belts of said sorting conveyors as being complemented by overlying idler pressurero llers 13. These pressure rollers act by gravity with their ends receiving journal mountings in vertical slots.

It is thought to be obvious that the system is not confined to the handling of green veneer but can also be applied to advantage in sorting and stacking dried veneer, and which becomes desirable from the fact that the strips are frequently intermixed when taken from the drying kilns. While these dried strips are more rigid and hence not as subject to damage as the green veneer, the factors of time and labor saving enter into and are as important to the handling of mixed grades of dry veneer as they are in the handling of the green stock. The apparatus is, perforce, capable of handling comparatively rigid strips as well as pieces which are extremely flexible.

While believed to be self-evident. it should, perhaps, be here pointed out that my showing of only three sorting conveyors and a related three stacking compartments is for purposes of sim- :plifying the illustration, and the desirable layout-in the event of it being desired to separate into the three grades of wood, namely sap, heart, and center-would be one providing two conveyors and a related two stacking compartments for each of these three grades and which, -perforce, would then require six trains of the selector keys. Such an arrangement becomes necessary in enabling an operator to feed alternatively into either of two like-grade stacking compartments, obviating any need for temporarily stopping the machine to replace a full with an empty trucl: as any one compartment reachescapacity. It will be understood that the system is in no sense limited to any particular number of grades, nor is the invention essentially confined to the sorting and stacking of veneer strips. Moreover, the system admits of numerous departures from the illustrated and described embodiment, there being no intention of implying any limitations other than as these limitations are brought into and made a part of the claims in distinguishing my invention from prior knowledge in the art.

What I claim, is:

1. Apparatus for handling veneer and comprising, in combination with a conveyor comprised of a severalty of endless belts disposed in spaced side-by-side relation and arranged to receive successive strips of said stock thereon; a severalty of sorting conveyors overlying said receiving conveyor, running one above another in the same general direction as the receiving conveyor and at a traveling speed accelerated from that of the latter, and having the head ends disposed one in following relation to another spaced a distance above the receiving conveyor sufiicient to admit of the passage of the strips therebelow; normally inactive means, one for each of said sorting conveyors, occupying positions in the interstices between the said receiving belts, and operating when activated and as astrip approaches the head end of the related sorting conveyor to raise the leading end of the strip on the lower-level receiving belts and into a position bringing said leading end under the travelling influence of the related sorting conveyor, thus to snake the strip on the receiving conveyor and onto the influencing sorting conveyor, said strip-raising means comprising endless .belts driven in directional correspondence with the belts of the receiving conveyor, normally occupying a position approximately .flush with the latter, and hinged for vertical swinging movement about the head roller of the belt as an axis to elevate the tail roller of the belt above the plane of the receiving conveyor; and means for selectively operating said strip-lifting means to obtain a segregating transfer of the successive strips from the receiving belts to the sorting conveyors.

2. In combination with a lower-level primary conveyor comprising a severalty of driven endless belts running in spaced side-by-side relation and adapted to carry pieces of stock material in a longitudinal direction; an upper-level secondary conveyor comprised of a driven endless belt located to dispose its head end above the path of travel of the stock material as it is conveyed by said primary conveyor and having its upper run moving in directional correspondence with the upper run of the primary conveyor; an endless lead-in belt supported to have its lower run overlie and lap the head end of said secondary conveyor and positively driven to give said lower run a speed and direction corresponding to the upper run of the secondary conveyor; normally inactive means disposed below the lead-in belt and operating through the space between the belts of the primary conveyor and arranged and adapted when activated, and as a stock piece moves with the primary conveyor into a position below the lead-in belt, to raise the leading end of the stock piece oii the surface of the primary conveyor and into engagement with the lower run of the lead-in belt, thus to bring the stock piece under the travelling influence of said lead-in belt and feed said leading end thereof onto the secondary conveyor; and means controlling the operation of said stock-lifting means, tov effectuate a transfer of the travelling stock piece from the primary to the secondary conveyor or to permit continued travel with the primary conveyor, selectively, the tail roller of said lead-in belt, and which is to say the roller which supports the lapping end of the latter, being arranged to normally ride upon the head roller of the secondary conveyor and being hinged to its own head roller for vertical swinging movement about the center of the latter as a pivotal axis.

3. In combination with a lower-lever primary conveyor adapted to give continuous travel in a longitudinal direction to successive stock strips of sheet form, and arranged and adapted to have its upper or head end serve as a moving inspection table permitting grading of the successively conveyed stock pieces and its lower end serve as a moving sorting table for segregating the stock pieces in accordance with the determined grade: a series of upper-level secondary conveyors running one above the other with their head ends overlying said sorting table one in following relation to another and which are adapted, by transfor of the graded stock pieces selectively thereto, to give continuing longitudinal travel to the stock pieces; a respective transfer device for each of said secondary conveyors normally inactive to the stock pieces as the latter traverse the sorting table and operating when activated to elevate a given stock piece from said primary onto the related secondary conveyor; an endless chain travelling at a speed corresponding to that of the primary conveyor and. spanning the combined lengths of said inspection and sorting tables; a series of transversely spaced and longitudinal trains of closely associated selector keys carried by the chain, one train for each of the transfer devices, and which are arranged to be manually actuated in accordance with the determined grade of the successive stock strips and by the instrumentality of selecting a key from the train which lies approximately in transverse alignment with the leading edge of the graded stock piece; and normally inactive means, one for each of the transfer devices, operating when activated to actuate the related transfer device in the performance of the latters elevating oflice, made responsive to an actuated selector key of the related train-upon the travel of the key thereto, and disposed to occupy positions approximately transversely aligned with the head end ofthe secondary conveyor related thereto.

4. Structure according to claim 3 in which the selector keys are supported by the links of the chain for vertical sliding movements from normal elevated into depressed positions, and wherein the tail sprocket wheel of the chain acts upon the passage of the links thereover to return the de pressed keys to normal elevated positions.

5. Transfer apparatus comprising, in combina tion: a lower-level conveyor adapted to carry a stock strip of sheet form thereon; an upper-level conveyor comprised of a driven endless belt disposed generally longitudinal to the lower-level conveyor and placed to locate its head end above the path of travel of the strip as it is conveyed on the lower-level conveyor, the directional travel of the upper run of said upper-level conveyor being in correspondence with the lower-level conveyor; and means made active or inactive at will and operating when activated to engage the stock strip in course of the latters travel with the lower-level conveyor and as it approaches the head end of the upper-level conveyor to lift the leading end of said strip off the lower-level conveyor and onto the upper-level conveyor, the means last recited comprising an endless driven belt located alongside the lower-level conveyor to normally occupy a position approximately flush with the latter and hingedly supported for vertical swinging movement about its head roller as an axis to elevate the tail roller and produce a walking ramp directing the advancing stock from the lower-level conveyor to the upper-level conveyor.

6. Transfer apparatus comprising, in combination: a lower-level conveyor adapted to carry a stock strip of sheet form thereon; an upper-level conveyor comprised of a driven endless belt disposed generally longitudinal to the lower-level conveyor and placed to locate its head end above the path of travel of the strip as it is conveyed on the lower-level conveyor, said upper-level conveyor having a travelling speed, upper run considered, accelerated from that of the lower-level conveyor and working in the same direction as the latter; and normally active means operative when. activated as the stock strip moves in course of its travel on the lower-level conveyor and as it approaches the head end of the upper-level conveyor to lift the leading end of the strip off the lower-level conveyor and onto the upper-level conveyor.

2'. Transfer apparatus comprising, in combination: a lower-level conveyor adapted to carry a stock strip of sheet form thereon and comprising a severalty of driven endless belts running in spaced side-by-side relation; an upper-level conveyor comprised of a driven endless belt disposed generally longitudinal to the lower-level conveyor and placed to locate its head end above the path of travel of the strip as it is conveyed on the lower-level conveyor, the directional travel of the upper run of said upper-level conveyor being in correspondence with the lower-level conveyor; and an endless belt, normally inactive to the advancing strip, disposed below the head end of the upper-level conveyor and in the space between said belts of the lower-level conveyor and arranged and adapted, when activated, to subject the strip in course of travel with the lower-level conveyor to a combined lifting and travelling influence functional to raise the leading end of the strip off the lower-level conveyor, the directional travel of the belt last recited being the same as that of the lower-level conveyor and carry the leading end to the upper-level conveyor.

8. Transfer apparatus comprising, in combination: a lower-level conveyor adapted to carry stock strips of sheet form thereon; an upper-level conveyor comprising a driven endless belt working through a path generally longitudinal to the lower-level conveyor, placed to locate its head end above the path of travel of the strips as the latter are conveyed on the lower-level conveyor, and having its upper run moving in directional correspondence with the lower-level conveyor; an endless lead-in belt also disposed above the lowerlevel conveyor and supported to have its lower run overlie and lap the head end of the upper-level conveyor, said lead-in belt being hingedly mounted for vertical swinging movement about its head roller as an axis and being positively driven to cause its lower run to work in directional correspondence with the upper run of the upper-level conveyor; and normally inactive means operative, when activated, to subject a strip, which has been conveyed by the lower-level conveyor to a point below the lead-in belt, to a lifting influence functional to raise the leading end of the strip off the lower-level conveyor and into engagement with the lower-run of the lead-in belt, thus to bring the influenced strip under the travel energy of the lead-in belt and by the action of the latter feeding said leading end onto the upper-level conveyor.

9. Transfer apparatus comprising, in combination: a lower-level conveyor adapted to carry a stock strip of sheet form thereon; an upper-level conveyor comprised of a driven endless belt disposed generally longitudinal to the lower level conveyor and placed to locate its head end above the path of travel of the strip as it is conveyed on the lower-level conveyor, the upper run of said belt traveling in the same direction as the conveyor; an endless lead-in belt also disposed above the lower-level conveyor and supported to have its lower run overlie and lap the head end of the belt; and normally inactive means in the nature of a walking ramp operative when activated to subject the strip in course of travel with the lower-level conveyor to a combined lifting traveling influence functional to raise the leading end of the strip off the lower-level conveyor and bring said leading end under the traveling influence of the lead-in belt, the said lower-level com veyor, the walking ramp, the lead-in belt and the upper-level conveyor acting successively to uninterruptedly transmit a continuous traveling influence to the leading end of the strip as the latter is transferred from the lower-level onto the upper-level conveyor.

, GEORGE ".EIAUTVIANIT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 226,916 Hoe et al Apr. 27, 1860 313,475 Crowell Mar. 10, 1885 722,937 Begg Mar. 17, 1902 1,457,352 Dreher June 5, 1923 1,482,311 Long et al Jan. 29, 1924 1,689,201 Halter Oct. 30, 1928 1,810,442 Spiess June 16, 1931 1,812,201 Denner et a1. June 30, 1931 1,831,158 Burkert Nov. 10, 1931 1,868,894 Glahn July 26, 1932 1,957,260 Gayler May 1, 1934 1,959,662 Ellis May 22, 1934 2,138,645 Rey Nov. 29, 1933 2,168,419 Paterson Aug. 8, 1939 2,176,784 Bowden Oct. 17, 1939 2,235,347 Zahutnik Mar. 18, 1941 2,318,252 Myers May 4, 1943 2,328,859 Taylor Sept. 7, 1943 2,328,860 Taylor Sept. '7, 1943 2,392,032 Domville et al Jan. 1, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 546,991 Germany Mar. 17, 1932 Certificate of Correction Patent N 0. 2,476,371. July 19, 1949. GEORGE HAUMANN It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Column 10, line 59, claim 6, for the words normally active read normally inactive; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 25th day of October, A. D. 1949.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant (Jommzssianer of Patents.

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