US 6,202,526 B1 · Shape sawing machine

Abstract

A shape sawing system for sawing lumber pieces from a curved cant. The cant is scanned by scanners and the scan data is input to a computer. The computer determines a curved path for the saw to follow in sawing the cant into lumber pieces. The saw is laterally and pivotally adjustable to follow the determined path established by the computer. The saw is a plurality of circular saw blades having a defined cutting edge portion that is inclined from a leading point at the bottom of the cant to a trailing point at the top of the cant. The point of pivot of the saws is between the leading point and the trailing point of the cutting edge portion. The saw assembly is mounted on pads having a low coefficient of friction. Pressurized air and lubricant are delivered to the pads to reduce the friction.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A saw assembly for the curved cutting of logs or cants conveyed along a linear pathway comprising:

a base member, a singular carriage supported on the base member and a saw supported on the carriage, said carriage supported on the base member by a support structure that permits multi-directional movement of the carriage relative to the base member including both linear and pivotal movements;
and
a positioning mechanism for positioning the singular carriage relative to the base member, said positioning mechanism including a linear positioning motor between the base member and carriage and a rotatable positioning molor between the base member and carriage and a controller controlling the linear positioning motor and rotatable positioning motor for continuous multi-movement alignment of the carriage and thereby the saw with a defined curved cutting path.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Shape sawing machine

Life of this patent

Shape sawing machine

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims7