AU593272B2 - Timber planing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A machine for planing lengths of timber comprises mutually perpendicular spindles for cutter blocks (7, 8). The spindle carrying the cutter block (8) extends below a machine bed (1). The spindle carrying the cutter block (7) extends across the bed (1). A conveyor (5) is provided for feeding a workpiece past the cutter blocks (7, 8) at a lower level than the bed. In a modification the spindle carrying the cutter block (7) drives a cutter block (9) which is offset from the spindle itself.

Description

AU-AI 6 1 4 9 0 8 6 WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION nternational Bureau

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PCT

INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED S(51) International Patent Classification 4 B27C 1/08 Al ON TREATY (PCT) aM WO 87/ 01067 26 February 1987 (26.02.87) (43) International Publication Date: (21) International Application Number: PCT/GB86/00435 (22) International Filing Date: 22 July 1986 (22.07.86) (31) Priority Application Numbers; 8520563 8600488 (32) Priority Dates: 16 August 1985 (16.08.85) 9 January 1986 (09.01.86) (33) Priority Country: GB (71) Applicant (for all designated States except US): WAD- KIN PLC [GB/GB]; Green Lane Works, Leicester 4PF (GB).

(72) Inventor; and Inventor/Applicant (for US only) ROBSON, Thomas [GB/GB]; 13 Moorsfield, FenceHouse, Houghton-le- Spring, Tyne Wear DH4 5PF (GB).

(74) Agent: SERJEANT, Andrew, Charles; Serjeants, The Crescent, King Street, Leicester LEI 6RX (GB).

(81) Designated States: AT (Eurooean patent), AU, BE (European patent), CH (European patent), DE (European patent), FR (European patent), GB (European patent), IT (European patent), LU (European patent), NL (European patent), SE (European patent), US.

Published With international search report.

A.O.J.p. 1 APR 1987

AUSTRALIAN

MAR 1987 PATENT OFFICE (54)Title: TIMBER PLANING MACHINES 8- -7 18 I his document contain the 6 am ndmaents made uM Section 49.

29 snd Is otwrt b prtrlg. 2 (57) Abstract A machine for planing lengths of timber comprises mutually perpendicular spindles for citter blocks The Tspindle carrying tti cutter block extends below a machine bed The spindle carrying the cutter block extends across the bed A conveyor is provided fo- feeding a wdokpiece past the cutter blocks 8) at a lower level than the 4.ed, In a modification the spindle carrying the'cutter block drives a cutter block which is offit' fcom the spindle itself. D l' 1 1 -1-

TITLE:

Timber Planing Machines

DESCRIPTION:

Technical Field The invention relates to machines for planing lengths of timber. In such a machine, rough square-sawn timber is surface planed and cut to a predetermined thickness at an early stage,in its use in manufacture. Such machines can similarly be used on a limited range of'plastics and 10 composite materials.

Background Art Timber planing machines comprise a bed and a fence providing a datum line along which a piece of timber is passed for planing. Several cutters are generally provided for removing a large amount of wood from a single face of a piece of timber which is bowed or twisted, and/or for planing mutually perpendicular faces. The need to force a workpie ce' into contact with a cutter makes it very difficult in practice to plane S 20 mutually parallel faces of a workpiece on a single pass S .through the machine. At least three passes are generally required fo' a workpiece to be planed all round in a four side planing 00 00 S 0/ 0 L EEN09 1 ~I 1_1 2 machine, and this makes it necessary for the workpiece to be carried back to the input end of the machine after the second pass.

GB 1020571 illustrates in its Figures 5 to 7 a four sided planing and moulding machine. Four or five cutter heads operate successively on a workpiece as it passes along a bed or table from right to left starting at driven presser rollers. A first cutter trues the bottom of tie d workpiece and also the lower part of its edge, producing two datum faces by which the workpiece can be properly guided for later facing operations. The table and fence are longitudinally divided to allow for adjustment of the depth of cut. This machine is expensive to produce, and time-consuming to adjust, but satisfactory for producing large quantities of timber of the same cross section.

In practice, it has proved limited to a maximum product cross section of 4 inches by 3 inches (about 100mm by

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GB 668988 relates to moulding planes which work the four sides of a plank with cutters arranged on crossed shafts, two sides being worked on each of two passes through the machine in opposite directions and at different levels. This plane is suitable for profiling or shaping a plank, particularly for cutting tongues and grooves, but cannot be used for straightening ,because it does not include a bed for supporting a workpiece. It has feed rollers at the side from which the workpiece is fed, and does not include an extractor as is necessary for the large quantity of chips produced in straightening.

S* The Invention In summary, a machine according to the invention comprises mutually perpendicular spindles for cutter blocks, a first one of the spindles extending below a machine bed, a second extending across the bed .from one side of the first to the other, means for -2afeeding a workpiece past the cutter blocks at a lower level than the bed, and feed mechanism for conveying the workpiece beyond the first spindle.

In operation, on a first pass through the machine, the work,-iece is planed on two mutually perpendicular faces by parts of cutter blocks adjacent to and extending over the bed. On a second pass back through the machine at the lower level, theother two faces are planed by parts of the cutter blocks below the bed and extending to the side of the first cutter block remote from the first pass. Two operators, one at each end cf the machine, can maintain a high level of activity passing workpieces through the machine once in each direction for planing on all four faces. The sense of rotation of the cutters, if correct for the first pass, is automatically correct for the second.

The means for feeding the workpiece past the cutter blocks at the lower level is preferably a conveyor belt.

This is suitable for maintaininc the necessary pressure to keep the workpiece in contact with the second cutter block which extends across the bed. The conveyor belt itakes it possible to use idler rollers to maintain the pressure to feed the workpiece, and consequently to do without driven rollers in this part of the machine.

Alternatively, driven rollers could be used to feed the o00o oo °O S

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-3workpiece over a thicknessing table at the lower level.

The machine may be provided with spindles for more than one cutter block to plane any face of a workpiece. A moulding attachment may be provided at either end of the machine, and is preferably adjustable in all directions in order to mould the workpiece as required. The proximity of the essential two cutter blocks to each other facilitates the extraction from the machine of the chips produced in operation.

When planing a piece of timber which is badly bowed or t'listed, or of great width, it is advantageous first to plane a lower face to provide a flat datum surface, and then to plane a face perpendicular thereto. Thus, in a modification, the spindles do not themselves actually each carry two cutter blocks; that is one above and one below .he machine bed and one to each side of the other spindle. Either or both of the mutually perpendicular spindles drives a cutter block which is offset from the spindle itself. Any combination of such arrangements on either or both of the spindles may be provided according S* to customer requirements.

Drawings: Figure 1 is an overall view of a machine according to the invention; 25 Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 from the other ide of the machine showing the planing of the first two sides of a workpiece; Figure 3 is a closer view of the machine of Figures 1 and 2 from yet another stand-point showing the thicknessing or planing of the remaining two sides of the S* workpiece; S Figure 4 is a vertical section through the planing side of the machine of the preceding Figures, that is the side of the machine at which the first two sides of the 1 1 4 I WO 87/01067 PCT/GB86/00435 -4workpiece are planed; Figure 5 is a section of the thicknessing or other side of the machine of the preceding Figures; Figure 6 is a sectional end view of the same machine; Figure 4a is a vertical section corresponding to Figure 4 through the planing side of a modified machine according to the invention, that is through the side of the machine at which the first two sides of the workpiece are planed; and Figure 5a is a section of the thicknessing or other side of the machine of Figure 4a.

Best Mode With particular reference to Figure 1, the machine comprises a bed or infeed table 1, and a fence 2 along which a workpiece is passed for planing. The workpie ce passes to an outfeed table 3 and an outfeed fence 4.

The workpiece is then placed on a lower or thicknessing table 5 against a fence 6 where it is passed back through the machine and planed on the remaining two sides. A main cutter block 7 extends across the infeed table 1 and over the thicknessing table 5. A side cutter block 8, perpendicular to the main cutter block 7 and adjacent the infeed table 1, extends below the table 1 for planing the side of the workpiece in the thicknessing or second pass through the machine.

The workpiece is generally introduced onto the table 1 by an operator to the left of Figure 1, and conveyed SZJ through the machine on a first pass by a feed mechanism 11 beyond themain cutter block 7. The workpiece planed on the first two sides is then removed from the outfeed table 3, generally by a second operator standing to the right of Figure 1. The second operator then places the workpiece on the thicknessing table 5, which comprises a conveyor belt on which the workpiece is held in contact by the pressure of idler rollers 43 (Figure The 11 r workpiece is conveyed along the fence 6 to the left in Figure 1 as it is thicknessed or planed on the remaining two sides by the parts of the cutter block 7 extending across the table 1 beyond the side cutter block 8, and of the block 8 extending below the table 1. The cutter blocks 7,8 are driven respectively through belts 17,18 from electric motors 27,28. The thcknessing table conveyor 5 is driven by an electric motor 29.

In Figure 2, there appears a piece of timber or workpiece being planed on its first two sides on its first pass through the machine. It can be seen how an extractor 16 for chippings produced in the planing on both the first and second passes through each machine is conveniently arranged over the cutter blocks 7,8. In Figure 3, the workpiece is shown on its second pass through the machine on which the remaining two sides are planed. The whole workpiece is thereby dimensioned.

Turning now to the Sectional views, and Figure 4 first of all, it can be seen that the machine comprises a structurally rigid plinth 30 mounted on a box base 31.

The infeed table 1 is mounted on a frame member 32 by swing links 33 for varying the depth of cut taken by the main cutter block 7. The fence 2 is adjustable on swing links to vary the depth of cut taken by the side cutter block 8. The outfeed table 3 is equipped with a fine adjustment handle 34 for levelling the table to the main cutter block 7, for example on' re-setting after changing cutter knives.

The second sectional view from the thicknessing side in Figure 5 shows how the frame member- 32 is supported on th e plinth 30 by four screws 38, one ateach corner, and only two of which appear in Figure 5, one in section and thie other covered by a protective bellows 39.

*i'i WO 87/01067 PCT/G B86/00435 Either one or both of the spindles carrying thecutter blocks 7,8 may be provided with a subsidiary offset spindle.

Claims (5)

1. A machine for planing lengths of timber having mutually perpendicular spindles for cutter blocks characterised in that a first one of the spindles extends below a machine bed, a second extends across the bed beyond the first, and there are means for feeding a workpiece past the cutter blocks at a lower level than the bed.

2. A machine according to claim 1 in which the means is a conveyor belt.

3. A machine according to claim 2 in which there is an idler roller for maintaining the pressure to feed the workpiece.

4. A machine according to any one of the preceding claims in which an extractor removes chips produced by both the cutter blocks. .a

5. A machine according to any one of the preceding claims in which either or both of the mutually perpendicular spindles drives a cutter block which is offset from the spindle itself. DATED this 28th day of JULY, 1989 WADKIN PLC Attorney: WILLIAM S. LLOYD Fellow Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia of SHELSTON WATERS (C 0 r I II I I