DE19822229A1 - Method and device for repairing damaged wooden pallets - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention is concerned with the problem of automatically repairing damaged wooden pallets by replacing damaged parts. According to the invention, predetermined, damaged boards (13) and / or runners (30) are first separated from the damaged pallet (10) and then the separated boards (13) and / or runners (30) are removed from the work area. The then partially dismantled pallet (10) is equipped with intact, that is, new or still fully functional used boards (13) and / or runners (30) and these boards (13) and / or runners are aligned simultaneously or in a separate operation. Finally, the added boards (13) and / or runners (30) are attached to the pallet (10), in particular nailed on. This is done automatically by a device with a dismantling station (29), an assembly station (34) and a nail station (38).

Description

The invention relates to a method and a device for repairing damaged wooden pallets, especially euro pallets.

DE 44 35 574 C1 describes a device for partial or complete disassembly of defective Known wooden pallets. With this device it is possible, damaged runners or deck boards from Wooden pallets, especially Euro pallets, automatically cut off. The damaged runners or deck boards are separated by the euro pallets by a Knife system can be pressed. Thereby nails, with to whom the deck boards or runners are nailed, severed. The device according to the prior art is limited to simply separating the damaged ones  Parts. Like the severed, damaged parts replaced new, intact parts and so the pallet can be completely repaired remains open.

The present invention addresses the problem to provide a method and an apparatus by which damaged wooden pallets largely automatically can be repaired.

To solve this problem, the invention The method steps according to claim 1 and the device according to the invention the training features according to claim 10.

According to the invention, predetermined, damaged are first Boards and / or runners separated. This can for example with a device according to DE 44 35 574 C1 respectively. After the severed boards and / or runners are removed from the work area the separated boards and / or Skids replaced by new boards and / or skids. Be at the same time or in a separate operation aligned the newly added parts. This can either done by the partially disassembled Pallet is loaded with new parts in the correct position. Alternatively, the new parts can be roughly positioned placed on the partially dismantled pallet and then positioned in a separate station become. Finally, the newly added parts nailed to the partially disassembled pallet. The palette is now completely repaired.

It is particularly advantageous if separated, damaged skids in a separate operation repaired and then again for repair defective Pallets are used. Pallet repair this creates minimal waste that has to be disposed of. After the skid repair, you can use a skid magazine  are supplied, from which the runners for loading the partially dismantled pallets can be removed.

After a further development of the invention stacked damaged pallets and then isolated. Then you can one Assessment site are supplied, in which the Damage detected on the pallet to be repaired become. This can be done by an operator or also fully automatically by a surveillance camera and corresponding image recognition systems or others Pallet control devices happen. Are at the Inspection of undamaged pallets or too strong If damaged pallets are detected, it is advisable to remove them out of the repair process. Idling in the This avoids plant. You can also heavily damaged pallets may cause malfunctions in the repair system. Of course, the System can also be set so that undamaged Pallets go unprocessed through the repair system.

After the pallets were partially dismantled, i.e. damaged Parts have been separated, it is advantageous to do so first store in a pallet buffer. This can be a disassembly area and Assembly area for pallet repair from each other be separated so that in the event of any faults in one of the areas the other can continue to run.

This can happen when the damaged parts are removed that wood splinters come on the partially dismantled pallet linger or the nails are not completely severed, but only the damaged parts from be deducted. This can lead to the newly added runners and / or boards are not rest completely on the partially dismantled pallet. According to a further development of the invention proposed the newly added parts after the  To press nailing. The newly added parts are in place then completely on.

After the repair, it is advisable to close the pallets stack and in a magazine for removal ready to deliver.

Further features of the invention relate to Design of the individual stations for implementation of the method according to the invention or device according to the invention.

The invention is described below with reference to the drawings explained in more detail. In these show:

Fig. 1 a pallet repair facility with the invention features, in plan view,

Fig. 2 is a side view of a sled assembly station with runners magazine,

Fig. 3 a section through the skid repair station of FIG. 2 in the plane III-III,

Fig. 4 is a board mounting station in side view,

Fig. 5 is a section through the board loading station of FIG. 4 in the plane VV,

Fig. 6 is a centering in plan view,

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the centering station of FIG. 6 in the plane VII-VII,

Fig. 8 is a repair station skids in side view,

Fig. 9, the skids repair station of FIG. 8 in plan view,

Fig. 10 shows a detail of the runners repair station according to FIG. 9,

Fig. 11 shows a portion of a pallet magazine for the system of FIG. 1 in side view,

Fig. 12 shows the area of the pallet magazine according to Fig. 11, in a different working position

Fig. 13 shows a detail of the pallet magazine according to Fig. 11.

Euro pallets 10 made of wood have nine blocks 11 arranged in three longitudinal and transverse rows. In the longitudinal direction, a floor board 12 is nailed under three of the blocks in a row. In total, there are three floor boards 12 . In the transverse direction, transverse boards 13 are arranged on the blocks 11 , that is to say on the sides of the blocks 11 opposite the floor boards 12 . The cross boards 13 in turn rest on three of the blocks 11 . A total of five cover boards 14 lie on the transverse boards 13 in the longitudinal direction. The two outer cover boards 14 and the middle cover board 14 lie above the floor boards 12 on the cross boards 13 . The cross boards 13 are nailed to the blocks 11 together with these cover boards 14 . The two remaining, somewhat narrower deck boards 14 are only nailed to the cross boards 13 .

The use of the euro pallet 10 often results in individual blocks 11 or individual boards 12 , 13 , 14 being damaged. The damaged pallets are then generally repaired by replacing the corresponding parts. A system for such an automatic pallet repair is shown in Fig. 1 in more detail.

The pallets 10 to be repaired are placed in stacks on a feed conveyor 15 , for example by means of a forklift. In the present case, the feed conveyor 15 is designed as a chain conveyor and comprises three storage spaces 16 for stacks of pallets 10 to be repaired. The pallet stacks are separated in a destacker 17 by the feed conveyor 15 . For this purpose, a complete stack of pallets 10 is conveyed into the denester 17 . The pallet stack is then lifted up by a lifting table engaging the stack from below to the end position of a cylinder lifting the lifting table. When the stack is lowered, four holders laterally engage the second bottom pallet from below at a certain position, so that it rests on the holders when the stack is lowered further. The bottom pallet 10 is further lowered until it rests on a conveyor. It is held in place by a stopper. As soon as the stopper is released, the pallet 10 is conveyed out of the area of the denester 17 . Now the lifting table moves up to its end position again and lifts the remaining stack of pallets 10 out of the holders. The holders then fold back and the stack is lowered again. The holders now again engage the pallet 10, which is now in the second lowest position, from below. The bottom pallet 10 is lowered again on the conveyor and can be conveyed out. This process is repeated until the entire stack of pallets 10 is separated. Now a new pallet stack can be fed into the denester 17 .

As an alternative to the four holders that can be swiveled into the pallet stack, the following construction is also possible. On both long sides of the pallet stack, a supporting beam is arranged at the level of the second lowest pallet 10 . These supporting beams can be moved, preferably pivoted, from a basic position distant from the second lowest pallet 10 into an engagement position directly next to the second lowest pallet 10 . Six spring-loaded retaining bolts are arranged on each of the two supporting beams. When the supporting beams move into the holding position, these holding bolts engage under the outer transverse boards 13 or cover boards 14 of the pallet 10, depending on the positioning of the pallet. If one or more of the spring-loaded retaining bolts abuts a block 11 , they are pressed into the supporting beam against the spring load. Specifically, the retaining bolts are arranged in such a way that the two outer retaining bolts abut against the corners of the pallet when the blocks 11 are correctly positioned and are pushed back. However, if one or more of the blocks 11 are displaced at the corners of the pallet 10 , they hold the pallet and another holding bolt is possibly pushed back. As a result, the pallet stack is always safely carried on a sufficient number of retaining bolts, so that there is no risk of the pallet stack overturning.

Two pneumatically driven flaps are attached to a frame for the denester 17 . These also prevent the pallet stack that is currently in the denester 17 from tipping over. After the last pallet 10 of the previous stack has been conveyed out of the area of the denester 17 , two flaps are opened by means of pneumatic cylinders. A new pallet stack can now be conveyed into the denester 17 . The flaps close at the same time as the lifting table is lifted. The stack is now secured against falling over. Sensors indicate the open state of the flaps. This prevents a new stack of pallets from moving against closed flaps.

Following the denester 17 , the pallets to be repaired arrive at an intermediate place 18 . In the area of this intermediate space 18 there is a circular saw which can be moved on slides. As a result, severely damaged sections of the boards 12 , 13 or 14 which protrude or are pressed in from the pallet 10 can be severed and removed manually. This prevents malfunctions in the following parts of the system.

The pallet 10 now arrives in an assessment station 19 . In the exemplary embodiment shown, an operator 20 determines which parts on the pallet 10 are damaged. This is entered into a control panel 21 which controls the subsequent system via a PLC control. Alternatively, the damage can also be recorded here by a camera system and the data of the damaged parts can be fed into the PLC control using automatic image processing or another pallet control device.

If it turns out in the assessment station 19 that a completely intact pallet 10 or an excessively damaged pallet 10 is inadvertently present, this is also detected accordingly. These pallets can now be discharged on a subsequent pallet switch 22 , to the left in FIG. 1. The pallet switch 22 is followed by further pallet switches 23 , on which the completely intact from the "scrap" pallets are sorted and made available on separate lines 24 , 25 and 26 . In the present case, the lines 24 and 25 also have pallet stackers 27 , by means of which the individual pallets 10 can be put together again in stacks.

Damaged pallets 10 to be repaired are conveyed from the pallet switch 22 to a transfer station 28 . The pallets 10 are inserted here into the subsequent dismantling station 29 by means of a molded part. The dismantling station can essentially correspond to the device described in DE 44 35 574 C1. Here the damaged pallets 10 are selectively dismantled. Specifically, predetermined cover boards 14 and / or predetermined runners 30 formed from a floor board 12 and the three blocks 11 belonging to this floor board 12 are separated. The separated cover boards 14 and / or runners 30 pass through a slide or channel onto a belt conveyor 31 and are laterally conveyed away by the latter.

The partially dismantled pallets 10 are removed from the dismantling station 29 by a dismantling conveyor 32 . The dismantling conveyor 32 is a two-row chain conveyor with several carriers arranged at a distance of approximately 1.85 meters. The partially dismantled pallets 10 are conveyed from the dismantling conveyor 32 to a pallet magazine 33 . Several partially dismantled pallets 10 can be temporarily stored here.

The partially dismantled pallets 10 are removed from the pallet magazine 33 and fed to an assembly station 34 . The loading station has a central transfer station 35 and - in the present case on the left thereof - a skid loading station 36 and on the right of the transfer station 35 a board loading station 37 . In the runners 36 , separated runners 30 are replaced by new or repaired runners 30 , if necessary. Correspondingly, cover boards 14 which have been separated off in the board loading station 37 are replaced by new ones. The exact operation of the skid assembly station 36 and the board assembly station 37 will be explained in more detail below.

The pallet 10 which has been completed in this respect is now fed to a centering and nailing station 38 . The newly added boards 14 and / or runners 30 are centered in the centering and nailing station 38 , that is to say positioned exactly on the partially dismantled pallet 10 . The replaced cover boards 14 and / or runners 30 are automatically brought into the intended position. The pallet 10 stops here and can be nailed manually. Alternatively, automatic nailing can also take place. For this purpose, a bridge 39 with a transversely movable shooting device or five shooting devices assigned to each cover board 14 can be arranged above the centering and nailing station 38 . Alternatively, all nails belonging to a transverse board 13 can be driven in simultaneously. If the pallet 10 is located with its first transverse board 13 under the bridge 39 , the replaced cover boards 14 and / or runners 30 are selectively nailed. The pallet 10 is now conveyed on until the second cross board 13 is under the bridge 39 . The necessary nailing is carried out here. The process is then repeated for the third transverse board 13 .

The nailed pallets 10 pass from the centering and nailing station 38 into a pressing station 40 . In the pressing station 40 , protruding nails as well as boards 12 , 13 , 14 or runners 30 which are not completely in contact are pressed after the nailing. For this purpose, five individual pneumatic cylinders are arranged in the area of the cross boards 13, which press the pallet 10 together. Five metal wheels are arranged on the piston rods of these pneumatic cylinders and are lowered onto the pallet 10 . The presence of a cross board 13 under the metal wheels is sensed by a light barrier. The pneumatic cylinders are then pressurized with compressed air and the metal wheels are pressed onto the pallet. As soon as the cross board 13 has moved out of the area of the light barrier and the light barrier has been released again, the pneumatic cylinders are depressurized with a run-on time of 0.2 seconds.

The pallets 10 reach a corner saw station 41 from the pressing station 40 . This serves to cut lateral cover boards 14 , blocks 11 and floor boards 12 of the pallet 10 . The pallets 10 are thus chamfered in plan view on their vertical edges. A firing station 42 is located after the corner saw station 41 . Emblems such as the DIN symbol are burned into some of the blocks 11 here .

The pallet 10 which has been repaired in this respect now has to pass through a control station 43 before it is distributed to two discharge conveyors 45 via two pallet switches arranged one after the other. A pallet stacker 46 is located in the area of the discharge conveyor 45 , by means of which the individual pallets 10 are again combined to form pallet stacks. In the present case, these are made available for removal at three provisioning locations 47 per removal conveyor 45 .

A skid repair station 48 can also be seen in FIG. 1. This includes a skid repair station 49 and a skid magazine 50 . It can be seen in FIG. 1 that the belt conveyor 41 conveys the separated parts parallel to the skid repair station 48 in an area next to the skid repair station 49 . An operator can pick out damaged runners here and repair them at the runners repair station 49 . The operator then places the repaired runners in the runners magazine 50 , through which they are conveyed to the runners loading station 36 and provided for the exchange of separated runners 30 .

The individual stations of the roughly described so far Appendix are described in more detail below.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, the skid assembly station 36 is shown with which the skid assembly station 36 associated with the end of the blade cartridge 50 in greater detail. The skid magazine 50 has three skid conveyors 51 , 52 and 53 arranged one above the other. Each skid conveyor 51 . . . 53 is assigned to a position of the runners 30 of the pallet 10 . The skids 30 of the far left position on the pallet 10 are thus in the upper skid conveyor 51 , the skids 30 of the middle position in the middle conveyor 52 and the skids of the right position in the lowermost conveyor 53 as shown in FIG. 2. In the skid magazine 50 there are always new or used, repaired runners 30 in sufficient numbers.

The individual skid conveyors 51 . . . 53 are designed as chain conveyors with two conveyor chains 54 arranged next to one another. Runs of the chains 54 are deflected downward via deflection wheels 55 . The conveyor chains 54 are driven here via drive pinions by an electric motor 56 .

The skid conveyors 51 each extend into the area of a discharge channel 57 . The runners 30 are pushed onto a discharge device 58 here. This can be seen in more detail in FIG. 3. The runners 30 resting on the upper run of the conveyor chain 54 and centered by guide profiles 59 are moved by the runners conveyor 51 . . . 53 placed on a discharge claw 61 . The next runner 30 intended for pallet repair is located between an upper leg 60 and a lower leg 62 of the discharge claw 61 . The discharge claws 61 are articulated by a joint 63 and can be tilted via a lever 64 by means of a pneumatic cylinder 65 . By extending the pneumatic cylinders 65 , the lower legs 62 are pivoted outwards and release the skids 30 . In addition, the runner 30 is forced downward by the upper leg 60 . This now falls down through the discharge channel 57 and is ready for a pallet 10 to be repaired. The pneumatic cylinders 65 are now completely retracted so that the upper legs 60 are pivoted outwards. The next runner 30 is then moved by the runner conveyor 51 . . . 53 fed and conveyed onto the lower leg 62 . For this purpose, the lower leg 60 has rollers 95 on its free end face. The entire process is monitored by light barriers which indicate the correct positioning of the runners 30 . This prevents a runner 30 falling down in the discharge channel 57 from being impeded by subsequent runner 30 .

The board loading station 37 is shown in more detail in FIGS . 4 and 5. As already mentioned, the board loading station 37 serves to automatically replace the cut or missing cover boards 14 . For this purpose, the board loading station 37 has several, namely five, board magazines 66 . The board magazines 66 hold about twenty to forty boards, depending on the version. They are arranged in the longitudinal direction above the corresponding board position. Each board magazine 66 is mounted in linear guides 67 by means of holders 68 and approximately 30 millimeters vertically displaceable. For this purpose, a pneumatic cylinder 69 is assigned to each board magazine 66 . If a cover board 14 is requested for the repair of a pallet 10 within the board loading station 37 , the board magazine 66 is lowered for the corresponding board position. The pallet 10 is now pushed completely under the hopper and the bottom deck board 14 entrained in the board magazine 66 by a driver on the chain conveyor for the pallet 10 from the board magazine 66 and placed so in the correct position on the pallet 10 degrees. For this purpose, the board magazines 66 have inwardly directed legs 70 on which the cover board 14 rests. On its front side, the board magazines 66 are open in the lower region and also have a recess 71 through which the drivers of the chain conveyors for the pallet 10 to be repaired can pass.

After the cover board or cover boards 14 have been placed on the pallet 10 , that is to say have been pushed out of the respective board magazines 66 , the lowered board magazines 66 are raised again to their starting position. A suitable sensor monitors whether there is always a sufficient number of new cover boards 14 in the board magazine 66 . If the temperature falls below a predetermined minimum number, the sensor emits an acoustic or optical signal so that an operator can fill up the respective board magazine 66 .

A mounting station for cross boards 13 can also be designed in an analogous manner to the board loading station 37 for cover boards 14 . This would only be offset by 90 ° to the skid assembly station 36 and board assembly station 37 between these two stations. A loading station for cross boards 13 would first place the cross boards 13 on the runners 30 , namely the blocks 11 , and then cover boards 14 would be placed on them. For this purpose, corresponding drivers are then attached to the conveyor chain of the chain conveyor and remove the cross boards 13 from the magazine at the corresponding positions. The system can also be used to produce new pallets.

In Figs. 6 and 7, the centering station is shown in more detail for exact positioning of the replaced runner 30 and deck boards fourteenth The pallet is introduced into the centering station by the same chain conveyor, the two conveyor chains 72 of which can be seen in FIG. 6 and with which the pallet 10 to be repaired has already been conveyed through the remaining stations 35 , 36 and 37 . The runners 30 of the pallet 10 pass through insertion channels 73 into centering channels 74 , 75 and 76 . The right centering channel 76 has a fixed outer wall 77 and a movable inner wall 78 . The movable inner wall 78 is pressed outwards by means of spring-loaded plungers 79 and the runners 30 are thus positioned against the fixed outer wall 77 .

The middle centering channel 75 has two movable walls 80 , which are also pressed inwards by spring-loaded plungers 81 . The spring forces are designed so that the middle runner 30 is positioned exactly relative to the fixed, right outer wall 77 .

The left centering channel 74 has a movable inner wall 96 analogous to the movable inner wall 78 of the right channel 76 . The movable inner wall 96 of the centering channel 74 is also loaded by spring-loaded plungers 79 . Furthermore, the centering channel 74 has a movable outer wall 97 which is pressed to the right in the direction of the fixed outer wall 77 by spring-loaded plungers 98 . The movable outer wall 97 is higher than a pallet 10 . As a result, the entire pallet 10 together with its left runner 30 is pressed in the direction of the fixed outer wall 77 and thus positioned exactly.

The cover boards 14 are also positioned by an analog device. The now correctly aligned pallet 10 can be nailed within the centering and nailing station 38 in the manner described above.

Referring to Fig. 8 to 10 of the runners repair station 49 will now be described in more detail. The runners 30 are inserted into the runners repair station 49 with the blocks 11 facing downwards. A respective hydraulically operated clamp 82 , which interacts with a fixed jaw 99 , clamps the blocks 11 in each case, which are undamaged and can therefore be used further. A damaged and thus replaceable block 11 is not clamped, so that it can fall out of the skid repair station 49 after the separation.

The clamp 82 is mounted on guide rods 83 in a linear guide 84 . The respective clamp 82 can be closed to the right by means of a piston rod 85 . The base board 12 is fixed by clamps 100 , which also interact with the fixed jaw 99 as a counter organ. To separate individual blocks 11 or all of the blocks 11 , that is to say the floor board 12 , knife systems 86 assigned to the block 11 to be separated are now folded down analogously to the knife systems described in DE 44 35 574 C1. This is done by means of an actuating cylinder 87 which folds the respective knife system 86 downward about a joint 88 . For this purpose, a piston rod 89 of the actuating cylinder 87 is articulated at 90 to the knife system 86 .

The entire clamping device with the clamps 21 and 100 and the jaws 99 is movably supported on a slide 91 . For this purpose, the slide 91 has U profiles 101 which are open on both sides and run on rollers 102 . Each side of the slide 91 or each U-profile 101 is assigned two rollers 102 , of which only the fastenings 103 can be seen in FIG. 8.

The two U-profiles 101 of the slide 91 are connected to one another by a crossbar 104 . A piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder 92 engages on the crossbar, which is attached at its other end to a crossbar 105 , which also carries the knife systems 86 . The crossbar 105 is firmly connected to a frame 106 of the skid repair station 49 . The hydraulic cylinder 92 now pushes the slide 91 to the right in the representations according to FIGS. 8 and 9, so that the clamped runner 30 is pressed by the fixed knife systems 86 .

An upper guide 94 , which is slightly vertically displaceable on spring tappets 93, slides over the base board 12 during the separation process and thus sets the required height for an actual knife 107 ( FIG. 9). By a further stroke of the hydraulic cylinder 92 , the knife 107 gets between the base board 12 and the block 11 and cuts through the nails with which the two parts are nailed. The respective knife system 86 is then moved back to the starting position and the clamps 82 are released . Depending on the damage, the base board 12 or the respective block (s) 11 can now be exchanged and the runner 30 then nailed.

The jaws 99 each have a horizontal slot at the level of the knife 107 . The slide 91 can thus always be moved far enough to ensure complete separation of the blocks 11 . The knives 107 move into the slots in the jaws 99 .

It should be noted at this point that only the knife system 86 is ever folded down at the position where a runner 30 is to be cut off. If, for example, only the base board 12 is damaged on a runner 30 , all 3 blocks 11 are clamped and all three knife systems 86 are folded down. The board is now separated from the blocks by moving the slide 91 by means of the cylinder 92 and can then be removed, for example, by an operator or automatically. After placing a new floor board 12 , the runner 30 is nailed. If, on the other hand, only the middle block 11 is damaged, only the two outer blocks 11 are clamped and only the middle knife system 86 is folded down. The middle block 11 is now separated from the floor board 12 in the manner described above and falls out from under the skid repair station 89 . After inserting a new block 11 , this is again nailed.

If, for example, the floor board 12 and the right block 11 are damaged, the left and the middle block 11 are clamped and all three knife systems 86 are folded down. The floor board 12 is now separated from all three blocks 11 in the manner described above, the damaged, right block 11 falling down out of the skid repair station 49 . The damaged block 11 and the floor board 12 are now replaced and the runner 30 nailed again.

It should also be noted that, alternatively, the knife systems 86 can also be moved while the runners 30 are stationary.

The repaired runner 30 is then inserted by an operator into the runner magazine 50 located above the runner repair station 49 . The same operator can also load the skid magazine with new skids.

The station with the pallet magazine 33 is shown in more detail in FIGS. 11 to 13. The pallet magazine 33 has two conveyor chains 108 arranged on both sides of a pallet. Respectively, on the half of its length, ie the length of a strand, the conveyor chains are fitted with brackets 108 109, on which the pallet 10 resting in the pallet magazine 33rd Specifically, the brackets 109 engage under the transverse boards 13 located on the end faces. The holders 109 are each attached to every second chain link 110 of a run of the conveyor chains 108 , as can be seen particularly well in FIG. 13. The conveyor chains 108 are each circumferentially supported on upright columns 111 on chain sprockets 112 , of which the lower chain sprockets 112 are each driven. Two of the chain sprockets 112 are arranged on a common axis, the driven axes being driven by a common drive. Specifically, a chain drive with strand reversal is provided, so that conveyor chains 108 arranged opposite one another are driven in opposite directions.

The pallets 10 to be buffered are inserted into the pallet magazine 33 from below. The pallets 10 are conveyed by the dismantling conveyor 32 under the pallet magazine 33 . The respective pallet 10 is lifted from the dismantling conveyor 32 by a lifting table 113 and raised in an area just below the pallet magazine 33 , namely approximately to the level of the lower chain sprockets 112 of the conveyor chains 108 . The conveyor chains 108 are now driven in opposite directions so that a holder 109 for each conveyor chain 108 engages under the pallet 10 , specifically its transverse board 13, and lifts it off the lifting table 113 . The lifting table 113 now moves back into its lower position and is ready to accept a subsequent pallet 10 .

If the entire pallet repair system runs smoothly, however, the pallets 10 are transferred directly from the dismantling conveyor 32 into the loading station 34 . For this purpose, there is a transfer station 114 on a level below the pallet magazine 33 and above the dismantling conveyor 32 . The lifting table 113 now takes the pallets 10 from the dismantling conveyor 32 and only lifts them up to the level of the transfer station 114 . In the transfer station 114 there is a carriage which cannot be seen in more detail and which is movable transversely to the transport direction of the dismantling conveyor 32 . The carriage has holding beams which can be displaced in a horizontal plane on both end faces of the pallet and on which holders are attached which engage under the pallet 10 , specifically the outer transverse boards 13 . These are moved together to take over the pallet 10 and the carriage is then moved downward in the illustration according to FIG. 1 into the loading station 32 , namely to the transfer station 35 . Here the pallet 10 is set down by the carriage on a further chain conveyor, which transports the pallets 10 through the subsequent stations according to FIG. 1.

In an analogous manner, with the aid of the lifting table 113 , pallets 10 can also be removed from the pallet magazine 33 and lowered to the level of the transfer station 114 , where they are in turn taken over by the carriage described above and transported to the transfer location 35 .

Another peculiarity of the pallet transfer described above is that it is once again recorded here which runners 30 or cover boards 14 have been removed in the dismantling station 29 . Specifically, an optoelectric sensor is attached to the horizontally displaceable support bar of the slide in the area of each skid position. This interacts with a mirror in the opposite support beam of the slide. If the light beam emitted by the optoelectric sensor is reflected, the runner 30 is missing at this position and must be replaced. This is reported by a corresponding control of the skid assembly station 36 . Of course, a normal light barrier can also be used here.

In an analogous manner, light barriers could also be used to detect missing cover boards 14 . However, when testing a prototype, it has proven to be useful to use mechanical buttons for this. These are arranged in the area of the transfer station 35 . These are actuated by cover boards 14 which are still present as soon as the pallet 10 has been moved by the carriage from the transfer station 114 into the area of the transfer location 35 . The mechanical buttons are then "pressed" by cover boards 14 which are still present. The signal obtained in this way is in turn passed on to the control of the board loading station 37 . The pallet 10 is now lowered onto the chain conveyor mentioned above.

It goes without saying that analog mechanical buttons can also be used in the transfer station 114 to identify missing runners 30 instead of the opto-electric buttons.

Reference list

10th

Euro pallet / pallet

11

Log

12th

Floor board

13

Cross board

14

Cover board

15

Feeder

16

parking space

17th

Denester

18th

Intermediate place

19th

Assessment station

20th

Operator

21

control panel

22

Pallet switch

23

Pallet switch

24th

line

25th

line

26

line

27

Pallet stacker

28

Transfer point

29

Dismantling station

30th

Runners

31

Belt conveyor

32

Demancer sponsor

33

Pallet magazine

34

Assembly station

35

Transfer point

36

Skid assembly station

37

Board assembly station

38

Centering and nailing station

39

bridge

40

Pressure station

41

Corner saw station

42

Burning station

43

Control station

44

Pallet switch

45

Conveyor

46

Pallet stacker

47

Staging area

48

Skid repair station

49

Skid repair station

50

Skid magazine

51

Skid conveyor

52

Skid conveyor

53

Skid conveyor

54

Conveyor chain

55

Deflection wheel

56

Electric motor

57

Discharge channel

58

Discharge device

59

Guiding profile

60

leg

61

Discharge claw

62

leg

63

joint

64

lever

65

Pneumatic cylinder

66

Board magazine

67

Linear guide

68

holder

69

Pneumatic cylinder

70

leg

71

Recess

72

Conveyor chain

73

Insertion channel

74

Centering channel

75

Centering channel

76

Centering channel

77

Outer wall

78

Interior wall

79

Pestle

80

walls

81

Pestle

82

Clamp

83

Guide rod

84

Linear guide

85

Piston rod

86

Knife system

87

Actuating cylinder

88

joint

89

Piston rod

90

joint

91

carriage

92

Hydraulic cylinder

93

Spring plunger

94

Overpass

95

role

96

Interior wall

97

Outer wall

98

Pestle

99

jaw

100

Clamp

101

U profile

102

role

103

Attachment

104

Crossbar

105

Crossbar

106

frame

107

knife

108

Conveyor chain

109

holder

110

Chain link

111

pillar

112

Chain sprocket

113

Lift table

114

Transfer station

Claims (25)

1. A method for repairing damaged pallets ( 10 ) made of wood, in particular Euro pallets, with the following method steps:

• a) predetermined, damaged boards ( 13 ) and / or runners ( 30 ) are separated,
• b) the separated boards ( 13 ) and / or runners ( 30 ) are removed from the work area,
• c) the partially dismantled pallet ( 10 ) is equipped with intact boards ( 13 ) and / or runners ( 30 ) and these boards ( 13 ) and / or runners ( 30 ) are aligned simultaneously or in a separate operation,
• d) the added boards ( 13 ) and / or runners ( 30 ) are attached to the pallet ( 10 ), in particular nailed.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that separated, damaged runners ( 30 ) separately repaired and then used again to repair defective pallets ( 10 ). 3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that repaired runners ( 30 ) are supplied to a runners magazine ( 50 ) and are removed therefrom for loading the partially dismantled pallets ( 10 ). 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the damaged pallets ( 10 ) are supplied in batches and separated before the repair. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the damaged pallets ( 10 ) are supplied to the inspection station ( 19 ) before the repair, in which visually or automatically damaged boards ( 13 ) and / or runners to be replaced () 30 ) can be detected. 6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that after the assessment undamaged or too badly damaged pallets ( 10 ) are removed. 7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the partially dismantled pallets ( 10 ) are temporarily stored in a pallet magazine ( 33 ) before being fitted with intact boards ( 13 ) and / or runners ( 30 ). 8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that following the nailing, the repaired pallets ( 10 ) are fed to a pressing station ( 40 ) in which the exchanged boards ( 13 ) and / or runners ( 30 ) are pressed will. 9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the repaired pallets ( 10 ) are stacked and provided in a magazine ( 45 ) for removal. 10. Device for repairing damaged pallets ( 10 ) made of wood, in particular Euro pallets, with the following stations:

• a) a dismantling station ( 29 ) in which predetermined damaged boards ( 13 ) and / or runners ( 30 ) are separated,
• b) an assembly station ( 34 ) in which the partially dismantled pallet ( 10 ) is equipped with intact boards ( 13 ) and / or runners ( 30 ),
• c) a nail station ( 38 ) in which the added runners ( 30 ) and / or boards ( 13 ) are fastened, in particular nailed, to the pallet ( 10 ).

11. The device according to claim 10, characterized in that the loading station ( 34 ) has a skid loading station ( 36 ) for loading the partially dismantled pallet ( 10 ) with intact runners ( 30 ) and a board loading station ( 37 ) for loading the partially dismantled pallet ( 10 ) intact boards ( 13 ). 12. The apparatus of claim 10 or 11, characterized by a centering station ( 38 ) for aligning the exchanged boards ( 13 ) and / or runners ( 30 ) before nailing. 13. Device according to one of claims 10 to 12, characterized by a skid repair station ( 48 ) in which the separated skids ( 30 ) can be repaired. 14. The apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that the skid repair station ( 48 ) is assigned a skid magazine ( 50 ) in which repaired skids ( 30 ) are temporarily stored and can be removed for loading the partially dismantled pallets ( 10 ). 15. The apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that the skid magazine ( 50 ) has a conveyor ( 51 , 52 , 53 ), in particular a chain conveyor, through which the repaired skids ( 30 ) of the skid loading station ( 36 ) can be fed. 16. The apparatus according to claim 15, characterized in that the skid magazine ( 50 ) one of the number of skids ( 30 ) of a pallet ( 10 ) corresponding number of conveyors ( 51 , 52 , 53 ), in particular three conveyors ( 51 , 52 , 53 ), having. 17. Device according to one of claims 10 to 16, characterized by an assessment station ( 19 ) in which damage to the pallet ( 10 ) can be detected visually or automatically. 18. The apparatus according to claim 17, characterized in that the assessment station ( 19 ) is followed by a pallet switch ( 22 ) through which undamaged or irreparable pallets ( 10 ) can be discharged. 19. The apparatus according to claim 18, characterized in that the pallet switch ( 22 ) is followed by a further pallet switch ( 23 ) through the undamaged pallets ( 10 ) on the one hand and irreparable pallets ( 10 ) on the other hand sorted pallet stores ( 24 , 25 , 26 ) can be supplied are. 20. Device according to one of claims 10 to 19, characterized in that a pallet magazine ( 33 ) for temporarily storing partially dismantled pallets ( 10 ) is arranged between the pallet removal station ( 29 ) and the loading station ( 34 ). 21. Device according to one of claims 10 to 20, characterized in that the nail station ( 38 ) is followed by a pressure station ( 40 ) in which the exchanged runners ( 30 ) and / or boards ( 13 , 14 ) can be pressed. 22. Device according to one of claims 10 to 21, characterized by a pallet stacker ( 46 ) through which the repaired pallets ( 10 ) can be stacked to form pallet stacks. 23. Device according to one of claims 10 to 22, characterized in that in the loading station ( 34 ) and / or an upstream station ( 114 ) sensors for detecting in the dismantling station ( 29 ) separated cover boards ( 14 ) and / or runners ( 30 ) are arranged, by means of whose signals the runners and / or board equipment can be controlled. 24. The device according to claim 23, characterized in that the sensors for detecting separated cover boards ( 14 ) of the loading station and sensors for detecting separated runners ( 30 ) are assigned to the upstream station ( 114 ). 25. The device according to claim 23 or 24, characterized characterized in that the sensors are optoelectric or are mechanical testers.