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US 7,681,610 B2Granted
Optimized planermill system and method
AssigneeUSNR/Kockums Cancar Company
InventorsRonald W. McGehee, Patrick Doyle
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An optimizing planermill system includes a control system and a workpiece feed path for feeding an array of workpieces linearly downstream to an optimizing planer. The gap size between successive workpieces is set so that each gap provides enough time for relative movement of at least one of movable cutting elements in the planer and movable guiding elements so as to obtain relative movement between the cutting elements and the workpiece being next fed in for optimized positioning.
Claims20
An optimizing planermill system comprising:
- a) a control system;
- b) a workpiece feed path for feeding an array of workpieces downstream to an optimizing planer, wherein the optimizing planer comprises at least one of movable cutting elements and movable guiding elements;
- c) means, operably coupled to the workpiece feed path, for setting the size of gaps between successive workpieces in the array of workpieces being fed into the planer, such that each gap provides enough time for relative movement of the at least one of the movable cutting elements in the planer and the movable guiding elements so as to obtain optimized positioning corresponding to the workpiece being next fed into the planer;
- d) the optimizing planer operably coupled to the control system, and further having an entrance, for receipt of a rough workpiece, and an exit, for discharge of an at least partially finished workpiece;
- e) a workpiece interrogator situated along the workpiece feed path upstream of the optimizing planar entrance and operably coupled to the control system so as to provide the control system with workpiece property information for each workpiece entering the optimizing planer;
- wherein the control system provides the optimizing planer with control information based upon the workpiece property information for each workpiece;
- and
- wherein the optimizing planer moves at least one of the movable guiding elements and the movable cutting elements as the workpiece passes through the optimizing planer according to the control information for each workpiece.
5 more elements
An optimizing planermill system comprising:
- a) a workpiece feedpath, operatively coupled to an optimizing planer, for feeding an array of workpieces downstream to the optimizing planer;
- b) an optimizing planer comprising at least one of movable cutting elements and movable guiding elements;
- c) an interrogator that senses physical properties of each individual rough workpiece and collects data about one or more of the rough workpiece's physical properties;
- d) one or more workpiece sensors that sense one or more of the position, velocity and acceleration of a workpiece in the array of workpieces;
- e) an optimizer that receives data collected by the interrogator and determines an optimized planing solution for each individual workpiece;
- f) one or more workpiece acceleration devices, operatively coupled to the workpiece feedpath, for adjusting the speed of a workpiece in the array of workpieces;
- and
- g) a control system that receives input from the optimizer and the one or more workpiece sensors,
- wherein the control system controls the at least one of movable cutting elements and movable guiding elements of the optimizing planer, and
- wherein the control system further controls the one or more workpiece acceleration devices to establish, control and/or correct a minimum required gap between workpieces feeding into the optimizing planer.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.