Flake aligner including baffles supported on continuously moving conveyor

摘要

Apparatus for forming a continuous elongated loosely felted mat of thin elongated wood flakes with the flakes being aligned in mutually parallel interleaved relation. The apparatus includes a plurality of belts positioned in adjacent side-by-side relation and for continuous movement so as to define a supporting surface for the mat. A plurality of sets of thin planar baffle plates are provided, each set including a plurality of thin planar baffle plates supported in coplanar alignment and in edge-to-edge adjacent relation. The baffle plates are positioned between a hopper for depositing wood flakes and the supporting surface and function to align the wood flakes in substantially mutually parallel relation in substantially parallel relation to the direction of movement of the supporting surface and to maintain the wood flakes in substantially parallel alignment as the flakes fall from the hopper onto the supporting surface. Each of the sets of baffle plates are positioned between pairs of belts and are supported for movement with the belts, and the baffle plates of one set are parallel to and spaced closely adjacent to baffle plates of an adjacent set.