System and method for trimming wood blocks
Assignee0788490 B.C. Ltd.
InventorsLarry Borne, Dean Kopp, Patrick Glazier
Life of this patent
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Abstract
There is disclosed a system, apparatus and method for preparing wood blocks. The embodiments disclosed may comprise paddle designs, trimming unit designs and methods, scanner unit designs and methods, for use in the trimming of wood blocks. The blocks may be used for finger jointing.
Claims20
An apparatus for trimming a wood block comprising:
- (a) a first conveyor having a first direction of travel and a first conveyor surface and comprising two conveyor chains, said conveyor chains together defining an open space therebetween;
- (b) an infeed for delivering onto said first conveyor a wood block extending between first and second ends;
- (c) a scanner unit for scanning said wood block on said first conveyor and comprising a first sensor and a first processor, said first sensor being operatively connected to said first processor for calculating a solution for said wood block;
- wherein said conveyor chains are narrow relative to said space between said conveyor chains so that sufficient scanning information can be derived for said processor to calculate said solution;
- and
- (d) a trimming unit actuable by said first processor and comprising:
- a second conveyor having first and second lateral edges and a second conveyor surface and a second direction of travel;
- a wood block positioner comprising a first paddle moveable transversely inwardly across said second conveyor surface;
- and
- a first trimsaw for trimming said first end of said wood block.
A trimming unit for trimming a wood block, said trimming unit comprising a conveyor, a processor and a wood block positioner:
- (a) said conveyor being able to carry a wood block having first and second ends, said conveyor having first and second lateral edges, a conveyor surface, and an associated direction of travel;
- (b) said wood block positioner actuable by said processor, and comprising a first paddle moveable along said direction of travel of said conveyor and transversely inwardly across and above said conveyor to position said first end of said wood block relative to a first trimsaw.
The trimming unit according to 9 wherein said trimming is preparation for finger jointing.
A scanner unit for continuously scanning wood blocks to be finger jointed, an individual said wood block having a length, and said scanner unit comprising:
- (a) a first conveyor having a first direction of travel for carrying said wood blocks oriented substantially transversely to said first direction of travel and comprising two substantially parallel first conveyor chains, each having a width and a surface and together defining an open space between said surfaces;
- (b) a first sensor for scanning said wood blocks while said wood blocks are being carried by said first conveyor, said first sensor being operatively connected to a processor for calculating a solution for individual ones of said wood blocks;
- (c) wherein said first conveyor chains are sized relative to said space so that scanning information is sufficient for said processor to determine a said solution for a said wood block.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.