A METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LIFTING PIECES OF MATERIAL

摘要

To facilitate the lifting of slab-like pieces of material separated from a block of material by substantially horizontal cuts, with the aid of a movable suction device acting upon the upper surface of an upper slab-like piece of material, a pressurized gaseous medium is caused to act in the region of the cut between the upper piece of material and the underlying slab-like piece of material or residual part of the block of material, either prior to and/or while lifting said upper piece. The pressurized medium is supplied into a least one cavity which has an open side and is formed in a movable cover means arranged along a substantially vertical side of the block subsequent to moving the cover means to a position in which it is sealingly connected to and each open cavity side thereof is covered by a portion of said block side, which portion extends along and reaches above and below said region of the cut.