System and method for automatically grouping tumbled bricks
View Patent ↗System and method for automatically grouping tumbled bricks, comprising: a brick feeding unit feeding rows of an even number of longitudinally spaced tumbled bricks with a featured side randomly positioned; a detection unit detecting the featured side of each tumbled brick; a pairing unit comprising a rotating device for each tumbled brick rotating each tumbled brick a preset angle in response of the detected position of the featured side, forming pairs of tumbled bricks with featured sides facing each other or in opposition; a grouping unit grouping the pairs of tumbled bricks in compact formations; a piling unit piling layers of compact formations in a compact pile of tumbled bricks, and a palettizing unit with pile rotation device rotating one compact pile of tumbled bricks 90° around a horizontal axis.
1 . A method for automatically grouping tumbled bricks, wherein the tumbled bricks have a prismatic rectangular configuration with two main faces, two side faces and two end faces, one of the two main faces or one of the two side faces of each tumbled brick being one featured side, the method comprising:
providing at least one row of tumbled bricks in aligned succession in a longitudinal direction, with an even number of longitudinally spaced tumbled bricks with the featured side randomly positioned, the tumbled bricks resting on one main face or on one side face thereof,
detecting a position of the featured side of each tumbled brick of the row of tumbled bricks;
rotating each tumbled brick of the row of tumbled bricks a preset angle selected in response of the detected position of the featured side of each tumbled brick, forming pairs of tumbled bricks with the corresponding featured sides facing each other or in opposition,
grouping the pairs of rotated tumbled bricks in at least one compact formation in a single layer; and
piling successive layers of compact formations of tumbled bricks forming a compact pile of tumbled bricks.
2 . The method, according to claim 1 , wherein said piling comprises compressing at least one compact formation of tumbled bricks, successively elevating or lowering at least one layer of compact formation and positioning an additional layer of compact formation underneath the preceding elevated layers of compact formation or below the preceding lowered layers of compact formation, forming a compact pile of tumbled bricks.
3 . The method, according to claim 1 , further comprising elevating said compact pile of tumbled bricks in a vertical direction, rotating the compact pile of tumbled bricks 90° around a horizontal axis by a palletizing unit, changing the orientation of the tumbled bricks of the compact pile, and further transferring the rotated compact pile over a pallet where it is further deposited.
4 . The method, according to claim 2 , further comprising elevating said compact pile of tumbled bricks in a vertical direction, rotating the compact pile of tumbled bricks 90° around a horizontal axis by a palletizing unit, changing the orientation of the tumbled bricks of the compact pile, and further transferring the rotated compact pile over a pallet where it is further deposited.