Veneer-slicer with remotely controllable blade angle adjustment

Veneer-slicing apparatus, comprising:

• a reciprocating flitch table for moving a flitch to be sliced in a substantially vertical plane, the reciprocation of the flitch table including a slicing stroke and a return stroke;
• a reciprocating carriage movable in a substantially horizontal plane, the reciprocation of the carriage including movement in a first direction toward the plane of reciprocation of the flitch table and movement in a second direction opposite to the first direction;
• a cutting blade coupled to the carriage, the cutting blade being oriented to present a predetermined angle of attack relative to the flitch to be sliced and positioned to slice a veneer sheet from the flitch during the slicing stroke of the flitch table;
• and
• means for rotating the cutting blade to alter the angle of attack of the cutting blade relative to the flitch, the rotating means including remotely controllable positioning means for rotating the cutting blade with respect to the carriage and means, remote from the veneer-slicing apparatus, for controlling the positioning means.

In a veneer-slicing apparatus having a reciprocating flitch table for moving a flitch to be sliced in a first plane, the reciprocation of the flitch table including a slicing stroke and a return stroke, a reciprocating carriage movable in a second plane, the second plane being substantially perpendicular to the first plane and the reciprocation of the carriage including movement in a first direction toward the first plane and movement in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and a cutting blade coupled to the carriage, the cutting blade being adjustable to present a variable angle of attack relative to the flitch to be sliced, the cutting blade being positioned on the carriage to slice a veneer sheet from the flitch during the slicing stroke of the flitch table, the improvement comprising:

• remotely operable means for rotating the cutting blade to alter the angle of attack of the cutting blade, the remotely operable means including hydraulically operated positioning means, including at least one positionable piston and cylinder assembly coupled to the carriage and the cutting blade, means for controlling a flow of hydraulic fluid to said at least one positionable piston and cylinder assembly, means for providing a signal indicating the position of the at least one piston and cylinder actuator, and means, connected with the signal providing means and with the hydraulic flow controlling means, for generating a representation of the angle of attack of the cutting blade and for operating the hydraulic flow controlling means to adjust the angle of attack of the cutting blade.

A veneer-slicing apparatus, comprising:

• a flitch table for moving a flitch to be sliced, the movement of the flitch including a slicing stroke and a return stroke;
• a cutting blade for slicing veneer sheets from the flitch during the slicing stroke;
• means for positioning the cutting blade relative to the flitch to slice veneer sheets from the flitch, the positioning means including means for orienting the cutting blade so that the cutting blade presents a predetermined angle of attack relative to the flitch;
• and
• means for changing the predetermined angle of attack, the changing means including at least one electrohydraulic actuator and means for controlling the at least one electrohydraulic actuator.

A method for adjusting an angle of attack between a cutting blade and reciprocating flitch to be sliced into veneer sheets, wherein the cutting blade is rotated about a pivot axis by a remotely controllable powered actuator, the actuator being coupled to a power source and including an actuator position sensor, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing an actuator position indicating signal;
• providing an operator command signal;
• and
• providing means for processing the position indicating signal and the command signal and for providing a control signal to control the actuator to change the angle of attack of the cutting blade.

A method for adjusting an angle of attack between a cutting blade and a flitch to be sliced into veneer sheets, wherein the cutting blade is positioned relative to a pressure plate and is rotated about a pivot axis by a remotely controllable powered actuator, the actuator being coupled to a power source and including an actuator position sensor, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing an actuator position indicating signal;
• providing an operator command signal;
• and
• providing means for processing the position indicating signal and the command signal and for providing a control signal to control the actuator to rotate the cutting blade and pressure plate to change the angle of attack of the cutting blade relative to the flitch.