The shearing plant according to the invention is employed to shear to size long products which are to be selected, accumulated and discharged for subsequent working or possibly tying.

In the following description we shall refer to a shearing plant for metal bars; however the invention may be applied to other long products too, such as for example metal profiles, rods and strips made of wood or similar.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The state of the art includes shearing plants used to shear to size metal bars which are then collected into bundles and discharged to be packed or subjected to subsequent working, such as for example bending or shaping.

Such plants normally comprise a zone for loading the bars to be sheared, a shearing zone comprising at least a shears and a measured feed, collection and discharge zone of the sheared bars.

In the measured feed zone located downstream of the shears, there are normally drawing means suitable to pick up the individual bar which is to be sheared and feed it up to the correct shearing position.

At the end and at the feet of the feed zone there is also a movable store, in correspondence with which the sheared to size bars are collected.

The movable store comprises a plurality of accumulation sectors which, translating linearly, can arrange themselves selectively in co-operation with the plane on which the bars

are fed, in order to receive the sheared bars.

In said accumulation sectors, the sheared bars are collected in a differentiated manner according to their geometric characteristics (length, diameter,...) or surface characteristics (smooth or ribbed), their final destination or the type of subsequent working to which they must be subjected.

Shearing plants such as are known in the state of the art also include, in a substantially axial position and in longitudinal prosecution of the movable store, a rollerway to discharge the sheared bars.

Because of the length which the sheared bars discharged in the movable store may reach (up to 12 m), the rollerway must be equally long and causes at least a doubling of the overall bulk of the shearing plant, in a longitudinal direction.

Using such plants is therefore particularly problematical, as large spaces are needed to install them and make them function.

Transportation and assembly of the plants is also very complex and entails high costs and long times.

The sheared bars have a long drop into the movable store, with relative problems of noise, possibly a disorderly drop and therefore entanglements of the bars discharged into the store, and other problems.

The axial movement of the sheared bars from the movable store to the rollerway is also generally made by means of thruster means which must be considerably long, as they have to perform a travel adequate to the length of the rollerway.

The axial thrust to which the bars are subjected may also cause them to jam on the rollerway, with consequent problems in the discharge step.

Document DE-C-33 00939 describes a shearing device wherein

bars sheared to size are progressively discharged into collection boxes arranged below an inclined plane; they can be selectively accessed by means of pivotting barriers.

The bottom of each of the collection boxes consists of a rollerway, so that the bundles of bars discharged into every box can be discharged each according to its own axis of movement.

This solution is not efficient since it requires a plurality of transport elements, with relative movement paths, for every discharge axis.

Moreover, the collection boxes are fixed below the inclined plane, and therefore the capacity of the collection store is limited to the size of the inclined plane itself.

Furthermore, this solution does not solve all the problems relating to the correct unloading and selective discharge of the sheared to size bars, in particular in terms of the noise deriving from the fall of the bars and in terms of maintaining the correct heading after the shearing operation.

Moreover, it does not solve the problems connected with the separation and collection of the off-cuts.

The present Applicant has devised and embodied this invention to overcome these shortcomings and to obtain further advantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is set forth and characterised in the main claim, while the dependent claims describe other characteristics of the invention.

The purpose of the invention is to achieve a shearing plant for long products, particularly metal bars, which, with the same maximum shearing length, has a lesser bulk compared with plants of a conventional type, and also a much

more compact structure, such as to allow the complete loading onto a truck or container, thus considerably reducing the times and costs of transport and assembly.

Another purpose of the invention is to achieve a shearing plant which is structurally simple and inexpensive, which will allow to optimise, both in terms of cycle times and in terms of functioning operativity, the transfer of the sheared bars from the movable store to the rollerway.

A further purpose of the invention is to unload the sheared bars into the movable store by means of a travel with an extremely limited fall.

This last feature allows to considerably reduce the noise and the possibility of the bars falling and piling up in a disorderly fashion, with a consequent loss of heading.

Moreover, it is possible to discharge the content of a specific and selected zone of the collection store without needing the worker to be inside, thus reducing the risks of accidents and prolonged down times of the machine.

The shearing plant according to the invention comprises, in its entirety, an assembly to load and optionally to pre- feed the bars, a shearing assembly for shearing to size, a drawing and measured feed assembly co-operating with a feed plane and an assembly to collect and discharge the bars.

The assembly to collect and discharge the bars comprises: -a movable store, subdivided into specialised accumulation sectors, arranged below the plane of feed and suitable to selectively collect the bars sheared to size; -a rollerway suitable to receive the sheared bars from the movable store and to discharge them; -means to move and transfer the bars sheared to size from the movable store to the rollerway.

According to the invention, the rollerway is arranged in a position adjacent and parallel to the plane of feed and the

movable store.

In the preferential embodiment the rollerway develops for the entire length of the movable store.

Between the movable store and the rollerway there is a sliding plane by means of which the bars, or groups of bars, sheared to size are selectively transferred from the movable store to the discharge rollerway.

According to the invention, in co-operation with the movable store there is an expulsion organ suitable to co- operate selectively with each of the individual accumulation sectors of the movable store, to pick up the bars contained therein and discharge them onto the sliding plane, from which the bars are conveyed towards the rollerway to be discharged.

In a preferential embodiment, the sliding plane is inclined downwards towards the rollerway, so that the bars, once they have been picked up by the expulsion organ and deposited on the sliding plane, roll over it and fall onto the underlying rollerway, due to the force of gravity.

According to a variant, the sliding plane is substantially horizontal and the bars, after having been discharged thereon by the expulsion organ, are translated transversely towards the rollerway by means of manipulation means supplied for the purpose.

According to a variant of the invention, in an intermediate position between the sliding plane and the rollerway there is a deposit seating, associated with separation means, inside which the off-cuts deriving from the shearing operations are conveyed.

In this embodiment, said separation means comprise movable closure means, co-operating with the sliding plane, which are selectively activated either to transfer the bars sheared to size towards the rollerway or alternately to

discharge the off-cuts into the deposit seating, advantageously arranged below said sliding plane.

The shearing plant according to the invention has an extremely compact structural configuration, which gives it a much smaller overall bulk compared with shearing plants of a traditional type, and makes it easy to install and position even in relatively confined spaces.

To be more exact, the rollerway being arranged parallel and adjacent to the movable store gives a considerable reduction in the overall length of the shearing plant, simplifying the discharge of the bars and making it much less problematical.

This arrangement allows the bars to be moved transversely without needing any axial thrusts thereon, and thus prevents the bars from jamming on the rollerway.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other characteristics of the invention will become clear from the following description of a preferred form of embodiment, given as a non-restrictive example, with reference to the attached drawings wherein: Fig. 1 is a plane, schematic view of the shearing plant according to the invention; Fig. 2 shows a section taken on a plane"X", orthogonal to the direction of feed of the bars, of the sheared bar collection zone of the shearing plant as shown schematically in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows an enlarged detail of Fig. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The shearing plant 10 according to the invention shown schematically in Fig. 1 is employed to obtain bars 11 sheared to size and made from a starting product in linear form or in the form of a coil unwound and subjected to straightening.

As shown schematically in Fig. 1, the plant 10 comprises a loading and pre-feeding zone 35, where a worker 36 in charge of loading picks up the bars 11 from the store and arranges them, by means of a loading device of a type known to the state of the art and not shown here, on a pre-feeding device 37.

The pre-feeding device 37 is substantially known, and its function is to receive the bars 11 and make them advance a little beyond the shearing position, defined by a shearing assembly 38, to allow them to be headed.

After every shearing operation, the function of the pre- feeding device 37 is to feed the leading end of the bars 11 still to be worked, which is in correspondence with the blades of the shears 38, until past the shearing assembly 38 so as to allow it to be taken by the drawing and feed assembly located in the zone 39 where the sheared bars are fed, collected and discharged, located downstream of the shearing assembly 38.

The drawing and feed assembly comprises, in this case, a gripper 14 suitable to move with an alternate rectilinear movement along a guided path 40 according to a travel which goes from a gripping position 14a, defined immediately downstream of the shears 38, to a release position 14b, assumed on each occasion according to the length of the bars to be sheared.

Positions 14a and 14b, shown with a line of dashes in Fig.

1, are the limit positions of the travel of the gripper 14, and substantially cover the entire length of the feed, collection and discharge zone 39.

According to a variant, the gripper 14 is also equipped with a vertical movement, and can rise above the shears 38 to go and take the leading end of the bar 11 directly in the loading zone 35; otherwise, the shears 38 may be retractable

and can descend below the movement plane of the gripper 14.

In these two cases the pre-feeding device 37 does not need to be included.

According to a further variant, the drawing and feed assembly is of the type with rollers.

The zone 39 has a longitudinal development correlated to the maximum length of the bars 11 to be sheared, normally up to 12 metres.

In the zone 39, as already explained, there is a drawing and feed assembly consisting of the gripper 14 and an assembly to collect and discharge the bars comprising at least a movable store 15.

The assemblies 14 and 15 are mounted on a frame 12 associated with a horizontal basement 13; the shears 38 and/or the pre-feeding device 37 may also be mounted on the frame 12.

In the preferential embodiment shown, the gripper assembly 14 is mounted inclined with respect to the base 13 and is arranged above a sliding plane 16, arranged substantially parallel to the axis of assembly and movement of the gripper assembly 14.

The sliding plane 16 is supported by supports 17 of the structural frame 12 and extends for the whole length of the shearing plant 10 located downstream of the shears 38. In this case, the sliding plane 16 is inclined downwards, towards the rollerway 26.

The sliding plane 16 has a first, or upper end 16a and a second, or lower end 16b.

The upper end 16a co-operates substantially with the gripper assembly 14 and is arranged in a position underlying the assembly 14.

In an intermediate position, the sliding plane 16 has a longitudinal aperture 22, of a length mating with the

maximum length of the bars 11, which co-operates at the upper part with the gripper assembly 14 and at the lower part with the movable store 15 which collects and accumulates the bars 11 sheared to size.

The shearing plant 10 also comprises a rollerway 26 suitable to discharge the bars 11 sheared to size; the rollerway 26 is arranged adjacent and parallel to, and at a height lower than, the lower end 16b of the sliding plane 16 and extends substantially the entire length thereof.

The rollerway 26 is provided with sidewalls 27a, 27b suitable to contain the bars 11 unloaded thereon.

In this case, between the rollerway 26 and the lower end 16b of the sliding plane 16, in a position underlying the latter, there is a deposit seating 28 inside which the off- cuts 29 deriving from the shearing of the bars 11, which must not reach the rollerway 26, are conveyed.

The deposit seating 28 is associated at the upper part with a closure element 30 movable from a lowered position 30a, wherein it is arranged substantially complanar with the sliding plane 16 to prevent the bars 11 falling into the deposit seating 28 and to encourage the bars 11 to be discharged onto the rollerway 26, to a raised position 30b (shown by a line of dashes in Fig. 2) wherein it stops the off-cuts 29 and conveys them into the deposit seating 28.

The movable store 15 of the shearing plant 10 is arranged in a position underlying the sliding plane 16, and with its longitudinal axis parallel thereto.

The movable store 15 comprises a plurality of accumulation sectors 18, arranged adjacent, suitable to contain the bars 11 sheared to size in a differentiated and selective manner.

Each accumulation sector 18 comprises a lower base 18a and two sides 18b and is suitable to contain bars 11 with specific characteristics of size and/or surface which may be

different from those of the bars 11 contained in the other accumulation sectors 18.

The lower bases 18a of the accumulation sectors 18 have a plurality of transverse slits longitudinally aligned according to a desired interaxis and extending substantially for the entire width of the accumulation sector 18.

The accumulation sectors 18 are mounted on a slider 19 moved, in this case, by means of actuators 20 movable with an alternate motion on guides 21 parallel to the sliding plane 16.

According to variants which are not shown here, the slider 19 can be associated with movement systems of another type, such as an electric or hydraulic motor, or otherwise.

The movement of the slider 19 on the guides 21 allows to selectively arrange an individual and specific accumulation sector 18 in a position underneath the longitudinal aperture 22 of the sliding plane 16.

In an underlying position aligned with the longitudinal aperture 22 there is an expulsion organ 23 suitable to move substantially in an orthogonal direction, from the bottom towards the top and vice versa, with respect to the sliding plane 16 by means of relative movement means 25.

The movement means 25 may consist of a hydraulic piston, or a jack, acting on a system of levers arranged longitudinal or transverse to the plant.

According to a variant, the means may consist of direct jacks, or racks, of electric actuators or other appropriate means such as are known in the state of the art.

The expulsion organ 23 is suitable to move from a completely lowered position (not shown here), wherein it is totally below the movable store 15, to a raised position 23b wherein it partly emerges from the longitudinal aperture 22.

In the attached Figures, for a greater clarity of

description, the expulsion organ 23 is shown in an intermediate position 23a, wherein it is just below the accumulation sectors 18.

In this case, the expulsion organ 23 comprises a plurality of lance elements 24 aligned longitudinally according to the interaxis of the transverse slits of the accumulation sectors 18 inside which they are suitable to be inserted.

Each of the lance elements 24 co-operates with relative guide means 33 and is associated at the upper part with a relative slide element 32 inclined towards the rollerway 26, in this case with an angle of inclination greater than that of the sliding plane 16.

Thanks to the axial movement upwards of the expulsion organ 23, the slide elements 32 are suitable to cross in height the accumulation sector 18 aligned with the longitudinal aperture 22, moving beyond the sliding plane 16 in the raised position 23b of the expulsion organ 23.

In this position, the slide element 32 co-operates with a turnover element 31 suitable to assume a first position 31a, wherein it is arranged substantially complanar with the sliding plane 16, closing the longitudinal aperture 22, and a second position 31b, rotated substantially by 180°, wherein it is arranged below the sliding plane 16 leaving the longitudinal aperture 22 free.

In a position co-operating with the gripper 14, and upstream of the longitudinal aperture 22, there is also an oscillating element 34 to temporarily retain the bars 11.

The oscillating element 34 is suitable to assume a raised position 34a, in which it retains the bars 11 during the drawing and measured feed step performed by the gripper 14.

In fact, since the plane 16 is inclined, during this step it is necessary to support the bars 11 which, being supported at one end by the gripper 14 and with the other

end co-operating with the shears 38, are free for their whole intermediate segment and would therefore tend to slide sideways in the case of sheared lengths of several meters.

After the measured feed and the shearing step, the gripper 14 opens and the oscillating element 34 is taken to the lowered position 34b in which it is disposed below the sliding plane 16, thus allowing the bars 11 to roll towards the longitudinal aperture 22.

In the event that, at the moment when shearing takes place, the movable store 15 is not yet in the correct position with the specific sector 18 below the aperture 22, the oscillating element 34 remains in the raised position until this positioning is completed.

According to the invention, during the operating cycle of the plant 10, while the gripper assembly 14 performs the drawing and measured feed of the bars 11 to be sheared, the movable store 15 is moved to take the specific accumulation sector 18 which is to be filled in correspondence with the longitudinal aperture 22.

During this step, the expulsion organ 23 is arranged in a completely lowered position so as not to interfere with the movable store 15, while the turnover element 31 is kept in its second position 31b and the closure element 30 is in the lowered position 30a.

As already explained, the oscillating element 34 may be kept in its raised position 34a both to retain the bars 11 as they are fed and sheared, and also to retain the bars 11 after shearing, to stop them from falling into the wrong accumulation sector 18 in the event that the movable store 15 has not completed its positioning.

Once the correct positioning of the accumulation sectors 18 has been ensured, the oscillating element 34 is taken to the lowered position 34b, allowing the bars 11 to roll on

the sliding plane 16 and to fall inside the specific accumulation sector 18 selected and aligned with the longitudinal aperture 22.

Once the sheared bars 11 have been unloaded into the relative sector 18, the oscillating element 34 is returned to the raised position with the function of supporting the bars 11 for the subsequent feed and shearing cycle.

Since the plane 16 is inclined and the movable store 15 is arranged immediately below, and is contained in the bulk defined by the plane 16, on the one hand the resulting structure is extremely compact, and on the other hand the height which the bars 11 have to fall is very limited, which brings the advantages cited above.

When it is desired to empty a single full accumulation sector 18 and to discharge the relative bars 11, this accumulation sector 18 is taken into alignment with the longitudinal aperture 22 and at the same time the oscillating element 34 is maintained in the raised position 34a to retain the bars 11 which continue to be sheared.

Subsequently, the turnover element 31 is taken to the second position 31b and the expulsion organ 23 is taken to the raised position 23b, thrusting the bars 11 beyond the longitudinal aperture 22 and discharging them onto the sliding plane 16.

The bars 11, rolling on the sliding plane 16, completely cross it and go past the closure element 30, discharging themselves onto the rollerway 26 by means of which they can be discharged axially to be subjected to subsequent working or simply to be tied and packed.

In this case, the sidewall 27a adjacent to the deposit seating 28 has an upper profile substantially complanar with respect to the sliding plane 16, which encourages the bars 11 to flow towards the rollerway 26.

In the event that the shearing operations entail the formation of off-cuts 29, for example consisting of pieces of an insufficient length, they are conveyed into the relative deposit seating 28, by taking the turnover element 31 to its first position 31a to cover the longitudinal aperture 22 and by arranging the closure element 30 in the raised position 30b.

In this condition, after having passed the longitudinal aperture 22, the off-cuts 29 roll on the sliding plane 16 crossing it completely and falling inside the deposit seating 28.

During the discharge of the off-cuts 29, the shearing operations can continue because the oscillating element 34 in its raised position 34a retains the bars 11 which in the meantime are sheared.

It should be noted that thanks to the inclusion of the oscillating element 34 the functioning of the shears assembly 14 does not have to be interrupted, at least for a certain period, even during the steps when the bars 11 sheared to size and the off-cuts 29 are discharged.

According to a variant of the invention, which is not shown here, the shearing plant 10 comprises a horizontal sliding plane 16.

In this embodiment, the bars 11 are discharged from the movable store 15 to the sliding plane 16 substantially as described above, while the bars 11 are transferred from the sliding plane 16 to the rollerway 26 by means of manipulation means supplied for the purpose.

The manipulation means can consist, for example, of thruster organs acting transversely on the bars 11, or turnover elements suitable to pick up the bars 11 emerging through the longitudinal aperture 22 and drop them directly onto the rollerway 26.

It is obvious, however, that modifications and additions may be made to the invention, yet these shall remain within the field and scope thereof.

For example, the movable store 15 may be horizontal and co-operate with a vertical expulsion element 23 aligned with the longitudinal aperture 22.