Apparatus and method for producing surfaced lumber
AssigneeBoring Machine Works, Inc.
InventorRay L. Cannaday
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus and method for, in one continuous operation, receiving a slab sawn from a log, sensing the thickness of the slab and setting the apparatus to plane its upper and lower surfaces to produce a desired thickness slab which then is sawn into boards of desired width. The apparatus includes upper and lower planer heads, the upper of which is mounted on adjustable setworks for raising and lowering. At the infeed end of the apparatus a sensor determines the thickness of an entering slab and through control mechanism adjusts the space between the planer heads to plane the slab to a desired common board thickness which is the maximum available from the slab size. A bank of smooth cutting saws downstream from the planer heads saws the slab into smooth-sided boards.
Claims20
Lumber forming apparatus comprising
- a conveyor for carrying a slab sawn from a log substantially horizontally along a path;
- a lower rotating planer head positioned adjacent the underside of said path operable to remove a portion from the underside of such slab and provide a finished surface thereon;
- an upper rotating planer head positioned above said path operable to remove a portion from the upper surface of such slab and provide a finished surface thereon;
- setworks connected to and supporting said upper planer head operable to vary the vertical distance between said upper and lower planing heads;
- a slab thickness sensor positioned upstream in said path from said upper head operable to sense the thickness of a slab entering said path as it is moved toward said upper planer head;
- a controller operatively interconnecting said thickness sensor and setworks operable to move said upper head to a preselected vertical distance from said lower head in relation to the thickness of a slab directed toward said upper head to produce a slab of preselected thickness;
- and
- a plurality of upright saws positioned downstream from said upper head to saw said slab into preselected board widths.
Lumber forming apparatus comprising
- an elongate frame having mounted thereon;
- a conveyor for carrying a slab sawn from a log substantially horizontally along a path;
- a lower rotating planer head positioned adjacent the underside of said path operable to remove a portion from the underside of such slab and provide a finished surface thereon;
- an upper rotating planer head positioned above said path operable to remove a portion from the upper surface of such slab and provide a finished surface thereon;
- setworks connected to and supporting said upper planer head operable to vary the vertical distance between said upper and lower planing heads;
- a slab thickness sensor positioned upstream in said path from said upper head operable to sense the thickness of a slab entering said path as it is moved toward said upper planer head;
- a controller operatively interconnecting said thickness sensor and setworks operable to move said upper head to a preselected vertical distance from said lower head in relation to the thickness of a slab directed [to]toward said upper head to produce a slab of preselected thickness;
- and
- a plurality of upright saws positioned downstream from said upper head to saw said slab into preselected board widths.
A method for separating a plurality of slabs of varying thicknesses sawn from logs into a plurality of boards having smooth surfaced sides comprising the steps of
- moving such slabs sequentially and substantially horizontally along a path from an upstream region to a downstream region;
- sensing the thickness of such a slab in a sensing area in the upstream region of the path;
- providing upper and lower planing heads adjacent the top and bottom of said path downstream from said sensing area, said lower head being set to remove a minor portion of the underside of such slab to provide a finished surface thereon, and said upper head being shiftable vertically relative to said lower head;
- positioning said upper head a selected vertical distance from said lower head in relation to the sensed thickness of such slab;
- moving such slab in a downstream direction through the space between said planer heads to plane the slab to a selected thickness with smooth upper and lower surfaces;
- providing multiple upright saws in the path of the slab downstream from said planer heads, said saws being spaced laterally apart desired distances for producing boards of selected widths;
- and
- moving said slab through said saws to produce boards with smooth sides.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.