LUMBER-SORTING SYSTEM WITH IMPROVED OVERHEAD INFEED

A lumber drop sorter has an overhead infeed conveyor system which delivers boards transversely and one at a time onto the upper run of the sorter conveyor chains in the spaces between lumber-supporting hooks carried by such chains. A speed-up chain system along the upper run downstream of the board infeed point accelerates each delivered board into the forwardly adjacent hooks before the board reaches the downwardly traveling end run of the sorter chains. The infeed system includes descending lugged conveyor chains extending from an overlying horizontal infeed conveyor toward the upper run and driven in timed relation to the sorter chains. Short lumber slides pivoted to the lower ends of the descending lugged chains deliver each board generally horizontally and gently onto the upper run. The chainways for the descending lugged chains are pivoted to the tail shaft of the overlying conveyor to prevent jamming. In one form of the apparatus board-measuring, grading and other processing equipment is provided along the upper run downstream of the board delivery point. In another form of the invention such equipment is provided along the overlying infeed conveyor.