Automatic sawmill
OwnerLyle D. Warren, Robert W. Brewsterinventors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In an automatic sawmill, a caliper device measures the diameter of an incoming log and the log is then positioned against a pair of backstands over a log receiving carriage. A plurality of cutting devices are positioned relative to the carriage, and the speed control for the carriage is predetermined, in response to the log diameter. The diameter measurement is supplied to data processing circuitry which provides outputs indicative of "sets" to be taken by the aforementioned backstands and cutting devices for sawing the log into a number of cants, boards, or slabs in a manner making optimum use of the log content.
Claims7
Sawmill apparatus comprising:
- cutting means,
- means for moving a tapered log substantially longitudinally into said cutting means for severing said log into one or more cants, boards, or slabs, with one side of said log substantially aligned with said direction of movement and with sides of said one or more cants, boards, or slabs, said means for moving comprising a carriage for receiving said log, and including backstand means for determining the transverse position of said log relative to said carriage, said backstand means maintaining the said one side of said log substantially aligned with the said direction of movement substantially longitudinally into said cutting means,
- means for measuring the transverse size of said log,
- and means responsive to said means for measuring the transverse size of the log for automatically determining, in accordance with said size measurement, instructions for a predetermined number and size of cants, boards, or slabs obtainable from said log starting at a datam plane proximate and parallel to said one side of said log and at an angle with respect to the other side of said log for efficiently utilizing the content of said log and for producing transverse relative movement between the transverse position of said log and the transverse position of said cutting means in response to said instructions to establish the relative position and symmetry of said log relative to said cutting means to produce said predetermined number and size of cants, boards, or slabs as said log is moved longitudinally into said cutting means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.