TRANSFER BEAM

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention relates to a transfer beam, which comprises a main beam provided with a longitudinal opening on the upper surface thereof and with a longitudinal transfer member mounted to move inside the main beam in the longitudinal direction thereof for transferring a longitudinal piece placed crosswise on the transfer beam in the longitudinal direction thereof, the upper part of the transfer member being arranged to extend into the opening, and an actuator for moving the transfer member.

[0002] Transfer beams are used in connection with different actuators for transferring longitudinal beams for handling, i.e. to be processed, for example, by sawing, lathing, etc. Depending on the length and weight of the material to be handled, typically two or more transfer beams are placed side by side. The operation of these transfer beams is based on a load-bearing main beam and, attached to the main beam in one way or another, a transfer member, which is often inside the main beam and mounted so as to move in the longitudinal direction thereof, for transferring pieces along the transfer beam by a mechanism of some sort. Usually the transfer members are coupled so that they all transfer the piece simultaneously in the same direction at the same speed.

[0003] One of the problems with prior art transfer beams is that the piece to be transferred is pushed during the transfer by different mechanic grabbers or the like along the surface of the transfer beam. In some cases this may scratch the surface of the piece, which may be disturbing for its use. Moreover, because of friction, this kind of transfer requires the use of force and, in addition, causes unnecessary disturbing noise.

BRIEF DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

[0004] It is an object of the invention to provide a transfer beam that allows pieces to the transferred in the longitudinal direction of transfer beams in a simple and reliable manner, and with as little disturbance as possible.

[0005] The transfer beam of the invention is characterized in that inside the main beam of the transfer beam, below the transfer member, there is a support beam; that the transfer beam is provided with transfer wheels mounted to revolve on transverse axles of the transfer beam and arranged to roll on the surface of the support beam; and that between the support beam

and the main beam there is at least one lifting member for lifting the support beam and thereby the transfer member in relation to the main beam so that in their upper positions the upper surface of the transfer member is above the upper surface of the main beam and, correspondingly, in their lower positions, the upper surface of the transfer member is below the upper surface of the main beam.

[0006] An essential idea of the invention is that inside the transfer beam there is a separate support beam along which the transfer member may move on wheels or rolls fastened to the transfer member. Further, the transfer beam of the invention is characterized in that the position of the support beam in the height direction of the transfer beam may be changed so that during a transfer the transfer member extends above the upper surface of the transfer beam so that the piece rests on the transfer member, and, correspondingly, may be lowered downwards in relation to the transfer beam in such a way that the upper surface of the transfer member comes below the upper surface of the transfer beam, whereby the piece remains resting on the upper surface of the transfer beam. This allows the transfer member to be moved in relation to the transfer beam so that it does not come into contact with the pieces resting on the upper surface of the transfer beam and thus the return movement is easy to carry out.

BRIEF DISCLOSURE OF THE FIGURES

[0007] The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying figures, in which

Figure 1 is a schematic top view of equipment provided with three parallel transfer beams, by way of example;

Figure 2 is a schematic, partly cross-sectional side view of a transfer beam of the invention; and

Figures 3a and 3b are schematic cross-sectional views of an embodiment of the transfer beam of the invention with the transfer member in its upper and lower position, respectively.

DETAILED DISCLOSURE OF SOME EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Figure 1 is a schematic view of equipment in which longitudinal products are transferred by means of three parallel transfer beams. The transfer beams and the products on them are shown schematically from above. The longitudinal products 2 on the transfer beams 1

have been moved onto the transfer beams by a device or machine not shown here, and they are moved in the longitudinal direction of the transfer beams 1 towards an apparatus 3 for handling or processing the longitudinal pieces in some way.

[0009] Figure 2 is a schematic, partly cross-sectional side view of the transfer beam of the invention with the transfer member inside the beam in its transfer position. The transfer beam 1 is provided with a main beam 4, which is made of two separate beam profiles or assembled from beam parts by welding, for example, as will be disclosed later in connection with Figures 3a and 3b. In practice the main beam may also be a single uniform beam made either of aluminium by extrusion or by welding aluminium or some other metal material. Inside the main beam 4 there is a transfer member 5, which may also be made of a single extruded aluminium profile or of aluminium or some other metal by welding or some other way, or assembled of two or more separate profiles produced in a manner known per se. Inside the transfer member 5 there are transfer wheels 6 in a rolling coupling in relation to the transfer member 5. Further, inside the main beam 4 there is a support beam 7, whose height may be adjusted in relation to the main beam 4 by a lifting member, for example, to be disclosed later in connection with Figures 3a and 3b.

[0010] In Figure 1 the lifting member 5 has been lifted up, its upper surface 5a extending above the upper surface 4a of the main beam 4. Hence the piece 2, depicted with broken lines by way of example, rests on the transfer member 5 without touching the main beam 4. The transfer member 5 may now be moved in relation to the main beam by means of an actuator 8, which may be a pressure medium cylinder, a pinion rack actuated by an electric motor, a screw, or some other actuator solution known per se. The transfer member 5 thus moves in relation to the transfer beam 4, and the piece 2 with it.

[0011] Figures 3a and 3b present schematic cross-sectional views of the transfer beam of Figure 1 with the transfer member 5 in the upper position and, correspondingly, in the lower position. As shown in Figure 3a, the upper part of the main beam 4 is provided with an opening 4b accommodating the transfer member 5. The transfer beam 4 is formed of two main beam parts 4', by way of example, which are fastened together by bolts 9, for example. Instead of a structure assembled by a bolt fastening, as in this example, the main beam 4 may also consist of a fully uniform single piece, whereby the rest of the mechanism may be installed therein either by dimensioning them in such

a way that they can be inserted through the opening 4b, or by pushing them in from the end of the transfer beam 4. In this embodiment the transfer member 5 is also made of two profile-like parts 5' fastened together by bolts 10, for example. Correspondingly, the transfer member 5 may also be made of a single uniform profile made either by welding or shaping aluminium, for example, by extrusion or by some other prior art method. On the lower part of the transfer member 5 there is provided a space that is able to accommodate the transfer wheels 6. The transfer wheels 6 are mounted to revolve on axles which are transverse in relation to the transfer member 5, and they are fastened to the transfer member by bolts 11 , for example. Also other ways of arranging a transfer wheel 2 rotatably on bearings in relation to the transfer member 5 are fully applicable as such. The number and spacing of the transfer wheels may be decided according to the load produced by the pieces to be moved.

[0012] Below the transfer member 5, inside its profile, there is a support beam 7, which is movable in the height direction in relation to the main beam 4 and the transfer member 5. Between the support beam 7 and the main beam 4 there are provided lifting members 12, such as hoses, as in this example. The support beam 7 can be lifted upwards in relation to the main beam 4 simply by filling the hose with compressed air or some other pressure medium. Normal compressed air is sufficient for carrying out an operation, the use and connecting of the compressed air equipment being in this sense simple and easy. When the hose is filled with compressed air, it swells up and becomes round, thereby pushing the support beam 7 upwards. This causes the transfer member 5, which is capable of moving in relation to the support beam 7 on the transfer wheels 6, to move upwards so that its upper surface 5a is above the upper surface 4a of the main beam 4 and thus rises to support the piece 2 depicted with a broken line in Figure 2. Now the actuator 8 shown in Figure 2 can be used for moving the transfer member 5 in relation to the main beam 4, whereby the transfer member rolls forward on the transfer wheels 6, and the piece 2 with it. With two or more of these transfer beams arranged side by side underneath one and the same longitudinal piece 2 and with the transfer member 5 lifted up for all of them, the piece moves nicely in a straight position in the longitudinal direction of the transfer beam by the simultaneous impact of all the actuators, without gliding on the transfer beam.

[0013] Figure 3b in turn shows the solution of Figure 3a with the transfer member 5 is in its lower position. In this case compressed air has been discharged from the hose, and the hose has flattened for a necessary amount. Since the vertical movement of the transfer member 5 is possibly as little as some millimetres in total, it is useful that the support beam 7 and the transfer member 5 both have downward extending flange-like parts 7a and 5b. This ensures that when the hose is free of pressure, parts 7a of the support beam set neatly and firmly against the lowest inner surface of the main beam 4. Correspondingly the parts 5b of the transfer member 5 are at the sides of the support beam 7 and guide the transfer member 5 in relation to the support beam 7.

[0014] The invention is disclosed in the above specification and drawings by way of example only, without being in anyway restricted thereto. The main beam 4 may have various cross-sectional shapes. Unlike in the embodiment of Figures 3a and 3b, its cross-section may be uniform in width, in which case lateral displacement of the transfer member and, correspondingly, that of the support beam is prevented by means of separate guides, for example, arranged between them. Likewise, the widths and other dimensions of the main beam 4 and the transfer member 5 may be determined in different ways and in a desired manner to suit the purpose of use. Instead of a hose filled with compressed air, different mechanic lifting members, such as different wedge solutions, pivoting lifting arms, etc., may be used for lifting and lowering the support beam in the height direction.