WO1994025361A1

WO1994025361A1 - Apparatus for transportation of stacks of lumber

Info

Publication number: WO1994025361A1
Application number: PCT/SE1994/000408
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stig-Åke SVENSSON
Original assignee: Floatline Ab
Priority date: 1993-05-05
Filing date: 1994-05-04
Publication date: 1994-11-10
Also published as: SE9301548L; SE501262C2; SE9301548D0

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for transporting bundles of timber (13, 14), wherein the apparatus comprises two parallel end-beams (5, 6) which are mutually connected at their centre parts by a centre beam (4) which extends at right angles to the parallel end-beams, so as to form an H-shaped bottom frame (1), and further includes two lifting posts (2, 3) which project out at right angles to the plane of the bottom frame and the free ends of which each carry a hoist fitting (9), wherein the lifting posts are mounted on the bottom frame in mutually spaced relationship along a line which coincides with the centre beam axis.

Description

APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTATION OP STACKS OF LUMBER

The present invention relates to an apparatus for transporting stacks of lumber or timber.

Wood that has been sawn in sawing mills is sorted into its various dimensions and packed in stacks consisting of respective bundles of planks, having mutually the same cross-dimensions and essentially the same lengths, these bundles being held together by means of straps, bands or like devices. The bundles are then loaded onto trucks, railway goods carriages or ships for transportation to the customer. One serious problem in this regard is that the planks in the stacks of lumber are often damaged, particularly the ends of the planks, when loading and off¬ loading the bundles, or stacks. This may be because the bundles are, in the main, handled manually.

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus which will greatly reduce the risk of damaging the wood in the transportation of wood bundles, and which will enable handling of the bundles to be automated to a greater extent.

This object is achieved in accordance with the invention with an apparatus for transporting stacks or bundles of timber which is characterized in that the apparatus includes two parallel end-beams which are mutually connect¬ ed at their centres by a centre beam which extends at right angles to the parallel end-beams, so as to form an H-shaped bottom frame; and in that two lifting posts which project out at right angles from the bottom frame and which each include a hoist fitting at their free ends are mounted on the bottom frame in mutually spaced relationship and along a line which coincides with the axis of the centre beam. This apparatus enables the bundles of timber carried by the bottom frame to be loaded and off-loaded automatically, and movement of the supported bundles can be readily guided and controlled by virtue of the fact that the apparatus is carried by means of the two hoist fittings, therewith greatly reducing the risk of damage to the wood as it is moved.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of an inventive apparatus and shows the lifting posts in a raised position;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Figure l, but shows the lifting posts in a lowered position; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a hoist fitting mounted on a lifting post.

The timber-bundle transporting apparatus illustrated in Figure 1 is comprised of a bottom frame 1 and two lifting posts 2, 3.

The bottom frame is comprised of a centre beam 4 and two end-beams 5, 6 which are joined at their centre regions by respective ends of the centre beam, so as to form an H- shaped bottom frame. A lifting post 2 and 3 is pivotally mounted centrally on a respective end-beam 5, 6, such that when lifted to a raised position, the posts will extend at right angles to the bottom plane, see Figure 1, and when in their lowered position will extend parallel with said plane, see Figure 2.

In the case of the illustrated embodiment of the inventive apparatus, the lifting posts 2, 3 are fitted into a base socket 7 which is fixedly secured to respective end-beams and can be pivoted in its respective socket about a pivot shaft 8 which extends parallel with the bottom frame and which is inclined slightly to a plane that extends through the longitudinal symmetry axis of the end-beams at right angles to the bottom frame, therewith enabling the posts to be raised and lowered. This arrangement enables the lifting posts to lie side-by-side in their lowered position, while supported by the centre beam 4, as illustrated in Figure 2.

According to a variant not shown, the posts are attached to the end-beams by means of simple hinges.

The lifting posts will preferably be provided with latching devices which hold the posts firmly in their raised positions, these devices advantageously having the form of snap-in latching bolts or like devices.

The free ends of the posts 2, 3 are provided with hoist fittings 9 which are intended to coact with suitable lifting devices. Figure 3 shows in larger scale the hoist fitting 9 fitted to the post 2. The fitting is comprised of a parallelepipedic box having elongated holes 10, 11, 12 formed in the upper wall and in the side walls of the box respectively. The bottom wall of the fitting is imperfo- rate. A hoist fitting of this kind is designed to coact with a lifting device of a kind known from US-A 4,358,145, which has a lifting head having an elongated cross-section corresponding to the shape of the elongated hole 10 in the upper wall of the fitting 9 and which is rotatably mounted in the lifting device so as to enable it to be turned through 90° after having been inserted in the hole, therewith anchoring the lifting head in the fitting. In the case of this known lifting device, the lifting head is rotated with the aid of coacting camming surfaces, although other means, such as stepping motors, may be used, of course, to rotate the lifting head. Because the hoist fitting also has holes in the side walls, lifting heads of the aforesaid kind that are inserted from the side of the fitting can also be used.

It will be understood that the hoist fitting can be configured to coact with other types of lifting devices, although preferably such devices as those which will enable the lifting head and hoist fitting to be coupled automat¬ ically. The described fitting may also coact with the lifting hooks of conventional lifting cranes or like machines, by inserting the hooks into one of the holes in the side walls of the fitting.

Figure 1 illustrates in broken lines two bundles of timber

13, 14 carried by the described apparatus. As indicated in the Figure, the bundles are lashed with the aid of straps

15, 16 which extend between the upper ends of the lifting posts and the ends of respective end-beams 5, 6. The lifting posts 2, 3 are also provided with lashing bands or straps on the sides opposite the sides carrying the bands or straps 15, 16, the band or strap 17 illustrated in Figure 1 being of the same type as the band or straps 15,

16. The strap 18 carried by the post 2 is wound onto a reel (not shown in the figure) and, in use, is pulled out through a slot in the post and fastened to a fitting on a corresponding end of the beam 5. There is preferably mounted on the lifting post an externally operable ten- sioning device which is connected to the reel axle and which may be of any appropriate known kind. It will be understood that the tensioning device may alternatively be mounted on the of the beam 5.

According to one variant of the described apparatus, the lifting beams may be shortened and lengthened, and will preferably be constructed of telescopic tubing, so as to enable timber bundles of different dimensions to be supported on the bottom frame. The timber bundles are placed on the bottom frame in the sawmill, and all loading and off-loading operations can then be effected with the aid of the lifting posts. This greatly facilitates handling of the timber bundles, while reducing considerably the risk of the timber being damaged when loading and off-loading the bundles. Because the unit comprised of the timber bundle and inventive carrying apparatus is lifted at two mutually separated lifting points, the tendency of the unit to rotate about an axis parallel with the lifting posts when off-loading is reduced in comparison with the rotational tendency of a unit which is lifted at one single point, therewith reducing the risk of the ends of the timber in the timber bundle unintention¬ ally striking an obstacle when shifting the bundle in an off-loading operation. When placing the timber bundles on the carrying apparatus, it can be ensured that the bundles are positioned so that the centre of gravity of the unit will lie essentially central between the lifting posts, so as to reduce said rotational tendency from the very beginning. As will be understood, it will also be ensured that the centre of gravity of the unit will lie as far as possible in a vertical plane which extends through the centre beam and the lifting posts, so that the unit can be placed adjacent a similar unit without the edges of the timber striking against the other unit.

The apparatus provided by the invention has a simple construction and comprises only a few components and enables timber bundles to be readily handled while reducing the risk of damaging the timber in loading and off-loading operations. The apparatus requires only a small amount of space when transported back to the sawmill, subsequent to the timber bundles having been off-loaded at their final destination.

It will be understood that the described embodiment can be modified within the scope of the invention. For instance, other types of hoist fittings may be mounted on the lifting posts, and it is also conceivable to configure the hoist fittings for coaction with several types of conventional lifting devices. Neither need the lifting posts be pivotally lowerable and raisable, since they may for instance instead be detachably fitted to the end-beams. It is, of course, also possible to secure the lifting posts to the centre beam instead of to the end-beams, and straps for lashing the apparatus to the floor of a truck, for instance, may be provided on the bottom frame or the lifting posts. The invention is therefore restricted solely by the contents of the following Claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus for transporting timber bundles (13, 14), characterized in that the apparatus comprises two parallel end-beams (5, 6) which are mutually connected at their centre parts by a centre beam (4) which extends at right angles to the parallel end-beams, so as to form an H-shaped bottom frame (1) , and further comprises two lifting posts (2, 3) which project out at right angles to the plane of the bottom frame and each of which carries a respective hoist fitting (9) at its free ends, wherein the lifting posts are mounted on the bottom frame in mutually spaced relationship along a line which coincides with the axis of the centre beam.

2. An apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that the lifting posts (2, 3) are pivotally mounted on the bottom frame (1) .

3. An apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the lifting posts (2, 3) are pivotal about an axle (8) which is parallel with the bottom frame (1) and which slopes slightly in relation to a plane passing through respective end-beams (5, 6) at right angles to the bottom frame.

4. An apparatus according to any one of Claims 1-3, characterized in that the lifting posts (2, 3) include a lashing strap or band (15-18) for securing the load.

5. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding Claims, characterized in that the lifting posts have a telescopic construction.