Woodworking machines
AssigneeBekaert Engineering
InventorGabriel De Muynck
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus and method for shaping and finishing at least a part of the periphery of a planar workpiece of wood or similar material in which the workpiece and a template are mounted on a carrier block which is drawn along a machine bed where the workpiece is shaped and finished in accordance with the template by a plurality of pivotally mounted material removing shaping tools and finishing tools, the workpiece being maintained in position on the template by a plurality of overlying rollers during its passage past the tools, and, after shaping and finishing, the workpiece being returned by a second conveyor to the inlet side of the apparatus.
Claims21
An apparatus for shaping and finishing at least a part of each of the peripheries of planar workpieces of wood or similar material, comprising:
- carrier blocks each having a template positioned thereon, each said template being adapted to have a planar workpiece carried on the top thereof unattached to said template;
- an apparatus bed for passage of said carrier blocks through said apparatus, said bed having an input end and an output end and means extending from said input end to said output end for conveying said carrier blocks along said bed from said input end to said output end with a uniform rectilinear movement, said conveying means being positioned centrally on said bed and each said carrier block including means for engaging said conveying means;
- at least one pivotally mounted shaping means positioned on each side of said bed for tracing each said template and shaping at least a part of the periphery of each workpiece in accordance with the pattern of its template, each said shaping means pivoting from a fixed position with respect to said bed and including means for pivoting said shaping means so as to engage a workpiece as the workpiece passes along said bed;
- at least one pivotally mounted sanding means positioned on each side of said bed for sanding and thereby finishing at least a part of the periphery of each workpiece, each said sanding means pivoting from a fixed position with respect to said bed and including means for pivoting said sanding means so as to engage a workpiece as the workpiece passes along said bed;
- a plurality of pressing means overlying said bed and fixed in longitudinal position with respect to said bed for successively contacting each workpiece from above as the workpiece passes along said bed to hold the workpiece by friction alone against its template in a fixed position with respect to said template;
- and,
- sensing means in said bed for automatically activating each of said shaping means, said sanding means, and said plurality of pressing means in response to the passage of each said carrier block along said bed.
A method for shaping and finishing at least a part of each of the peripheries of planar workpieces of wood or similar material, comprising the steps of:
- placing planar workpieces each on a template mounted on a carrier block without attaching the workpieces to said templates;
- engaging said carrier blocks on the conveying means of an apparatus bed having an input end and an output end, said conveying means extending from said input end to said output end and being positioned centrally on said apparatus bed;
- conveying the carrier blocks along said apparatus bed from said input end to said output end with a uniform rectilinear movement;
- successively contacting each workpiece from above as the workpiece passes along said bed with a plurality of pressing means overlying said bed and fixed in longitudinal position with respect to said bed to hold each workpiece by friction alone against its template in a fixed position with respect to said template;
- tracing each said template and shaping at least a part of the periphery of each workpiece in accordance with the pattern of its template with at least one pivotally mounted shaping means positioned on each side of said bed, each said shaping means pivoting from a fixed position with respect to said bed and including means for pivoting said shaping means so as to engage each workpiece as the workpiece passes along said bed;
- and,
- sanding and thereby finishing at least a part of the periphery of each workpiece with at least one pivotally mounted sanding means positioned on each side of said bed, each said sanding means pivoting from a fixed position with respect to said bed and including means for pivoting said sanding means so as to engage each workpiece as the workpiece passes along said bed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.