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EP-4527578-B1 - FIREWOOD CONVEYOR FOR A CUTTING MACHINE AND/OR SPLITTING MACHINE AND A CUTTING MACHINE AND/OR SPLITTING MACHINE PROVIDED WITH SUCH A CONVEYOR

EP4527578B1EP 4527578 B1EP4527578 B1EP 4527578B1EP-4527578-B1

Inventors

  • GROBELNIK, Sandi

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240906

Claims (9)

  1. Firewood conveyor (100) for a cutting and/or splitting machine (200), comprising: - a conveyor frame (1) comprising, in the firewood conveying direction, at least two frame sections (1 1 , 1 2 , 1 z ) i.e. at least a first (1 1 ) and a last (1 z ) section, which can telescopically slide into each other, the first section being adapted in a way to be attachable in a swivelling manner via a hinge (2) to the cutting machine and/or splitting machine, - two cylinders (11, 12) rotationally arranged at the opposite ends of the frame, at least one cylinder being provided with a drive (13) for driving a conveyor belt (14), - an endless conveyor belt (14) arranged over said cylinders, - a means (20) for changing the tilt of the conveyor, - a hydraulic cylinder (30) connected with one of its ends to the first frame section (1 1 ) and connected with the other of its ends to the last frame section (1 z ), the hydraulic cylinder in its extended configuration holding the frame in the extended position, characterized by further comprising - at least one lock means (40, 40', 40", 40"') arranged on a distal lateral portion of the first conveyor frame section (1 1 ), preferably two lock means arranged on opposite distal lateral portions of the first conveyor frame section, the lock means being adapted to assume a first position, in which it is not in contact with the conveyor belt (14), and a second position, in which the conveyor belt (14) on the bottom side is squeezed between the first conveyor frame section (1 1 ) and the lock means (40, 40', 40", 40"').
  2. Conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that the lock means (40) is configured to comprise: - a first U profile (41) arranged at the distal lateral portion of the first conveyor frame section (1 1 ) and provided on its legs with two symmetrically formed oblong through holes (42) and two cylindrical pins (43) facing opposite directions, - a second U profile (44) attached by two screws (45) to the first profile to swivel with respect to the first profile and move within the oblong through holes (42) in the first profile and provided on its legs by two symmetrically formed J shaped through holes (46) engaging said two cylindrical pins (43), and a projecting portion (47) arranged in a way to press against the conveyor belt (14) in the second position of the lock means, and - at least one spring (48), preferably two springs, arranged in a way to bias the first (41) and the second profile (44) towards each other.
  3. Conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that the lock means (40) is configured to comprise: - a first L profile (41') arranged at the distal lateral portion of the first conveyor frame section (1 1 ) and provided on its leg with an oblong through hole (42') and a cylindrical pin (43') projecting outwards, - a second L profile (44') attached by a screw (45') to the first profile to swivel with respect to the first profile and move within the oblong through hole (42') in the first profile and provided on its leg by a J shaped through hole (46') engaging said cylindrical pin (43'), and a projecting portion (47') arranged in a way to press against the conveyor belt (14) in the second position of the lock means, - at least one spring (48') arranged in a way to bias the first (41') and the second profile (44') towards each other.
  4. Conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that the lock means (40") is configured to comprise: - a third L profile (41") arranged at the distal lateral portion of the first conveyor frame section (1 1 ) and provided on its leg with an oblong through hole (42") and a cylindrical pin (43") projecting outwards, - a first swivel lever (44") attached by a screw (45") to the third profile to swivel with respect to the third profile and move within the oblong through hole (42") in the third profile and provided on its leg by a J shaped through hole (46") engaging said cylindrical pin (43"), the first swivel lever (44") being arranged in a way to press against the conveyor belt (14) in the second position of the lock means, - at least one spring (48") arranged in a way to bias the third profile (41") and the first swivel lever (44") towards each other.
  5. Conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that the lock means (40‴) is configured to comprise: - a fourth L profile (41‴') arranged at the distal lateral portion of the first conveyor frame section (1 1 ) and provided on its leg with a cylindrical pin (43‴) projecting outwards, - a second swivel lever (44‴) attached by a screw (45‴) to the fourth profile to swivel with respect to the fourth profile about the axis of said screw and provided on its leg by an arc shaped through hole (46‴) engaging said cylindrical pin (43‴), the second swivel lever (44‴) being arranged in a way to press against the conveyor belt (14) in the second position of the lock means, - at least one spring (48‴) arranged in a way to bias the fourth profile (41‴) and the second swivel lever (44ʺʺ) towards each other and in a way that the axis of the spring intersects the axis of the screw when the second swivel lever (44"') is arranged in the middle between the first and second positions of the lock means.
  6. Conveyor according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the hydraulic cylinder is supported on the conveyor frame by a sliding support (31), e.g. of a plastic material.
  7. Conveyor according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that a means (20) for changing the tilt of the conveyor is configured to comprise: - a winding drum with a drive attachable to a cutting and/or splitting machine, - a support (21) fixed to the bottom side of the conveyor frame and provided at one end with a first and second sheaves and at the other end with a third and fourth sheaves, - a fifth sheave attachable to a cutting and/or splitting machine, - a cable (22) attachable with one of its ends to a cutting and/or splitting machine and guided through a first sheave, a third sheave, a fifth sheave, a fourth sheave and a second sheave and connected with the other of its ends to the winding drum.
  8. Conveyor according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conveyor belt (14) is provided with retaining rails (15).
  9. A cutting and/or splitting machine comprising the conveyor according to any of the preceding claims.

Description

Field of invention The invention relates to a firewood conveyor for a cutting and/or splitting machine and to a cutting and/or splitting machine provided with such a conveyor. Prior art A firewood conveyor for a cutting and/or splitting machine is known from prior art, which, when is use, is pivotally hinged to a cutting and/or splitting machine and configured to convey firewood from the machine to a higher level, from which it drops under the influence of gravity into a collector, for instance. To achieve an adequate height level to which the firewood needs to be conveyed, the conveyor must have an appropriate length. However, such a length of a conveyor is an obstacle when the machine needs to be transported to another location. This is why known conveyors are formed of telescopic sections which slide inside each other. When a machine needs to be transported to another location, the firewood conveyor is first swivelled to a vertical position and then telescopically folded. The conveyor belt is no longer taut but falls loosely partly into the area between the conveyor and the machine on one side and partly on the ground on the other side. The conveyor belt must be manually pulled into the area between the conveyor and the machine and fastened, e.g. with a chain or an elastic strap, to prevent the conveyor belt from falling to the ground during the machine transport and getting damaged. A firewood conveyor according to the preamble of claim 1 is known from EP 1 899 244 B1. Technical problem The technical problem is how to provide a firewood conveyor for a cutting and/or splitting machine, which, when used, will facilitate the process of preparing the firewood conveyor for the transport of the machine and ensure a safe transport of the machine without the risk of the conveyor belt getting damaged during transport. Solution to the technical problem The relative terms such as vertical position, lower, upper, lateral etc. are defined with respect to the orientation of the conveyor in space when it is used for transporting firewood when the conveyor is attached to a cutting and/or splitting machine. The relative terms such as distal and proximal are defined with respect to the machine, to which the conveyor is attached when in use. The technical problem is solved by a firewood conveyor for a cutting and/or splitting machine, comprising: a conveyor frame comprising, in the firewood conveying direction, at least two frame sections, i.e. at least a first and a last section, which can telescopically slide into each other, the first section being adapted in a way to be attachable in a swivelling manner via a hinge to the cutting and/or splitting machine,two cylinders rotationally arranged at the opposite ends of the frame, at least one cylinder being provided with a drive for driving a conveyor belt,an endless conveyor belt arranged over said cylinders,a means for changing the tilt of the conveyor,a hydraulic cylinder connected with one of its ends to the first frame section and connected with the other of its ends to the last frame section, the hydraulic cylinder in its extended configuration holding the frame in the extended position, andat least one lock means arranged on a distal lateral portion of the first conveyor frame section, preferably two lock means arranged on opposite distal lateral portions of the first conveyor frame section, the lock means being adapted to assume a first position, in which it is not in contact with the conveyor belt, and a second position, in which the conveyor belt on the bottom side is squeezed between the first conveyor frame section and the lock means. An advantage of the firewood conveyor of the invention over known solutions is that the conveyor belt, when the firewood transporter is transferred to a machine transport position, automatically folds in the area between the conveyor and the cutting and/or splitting machine, which facilitates the process and is time-saving. In addition, unwinding of the belt from the conveyor is prevented during transport, which ensures a safe transport without any risks of the belt getting damaged. Figure 1: Conveyor arranged on a cutting and splitting machine in the position of use for conveying firewood (the conveyor belt in the area of the cylinder is not shown)Figure 2: Conveyor arranged on a cutting and splitting machine in the machine transport position (the conveyor belt in the area of the cylinder is not shown)Figure 3: Lock means of U profiles in a first positionFigure 4: Lock means of U profiles in a second positionFigure 5: Conveyor (the conveyor belt in the area of the cylinder is not shown)Figure 6: Lock means of L profiles in a first positionFigure 7: Lock means with a first swivel lever in a first positionFigure 8: Lock means with a second swivel lever in a first position The invention is described in more detail hereinbelow. The technical problem is solved by a firewood conveyor 100 for a cutting and/or splitting machine 200, compr