CA1066172A - Cant strip machine - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A machine for sawing cant strips and the like for use in the indus-trial roofing trade. This machine has a strong rigidly constructed support table, feed rollers mounted on said support table for feeding the wood material to be sawed, a plurality of saw blades mounted on adjustable saw arbors in two banks, the saw blades of the first bank being at an angle of approximately 45 degrees with the table surface, and the angle of the saw blades of the second bank being at an angle of approximately 45 degrees with the table surface, but with the plane of the saw blades of the second bank being approximately 90 degrees to the plane of the saw blades of the first bank. Each of the saw arbors of each bank are adjustable so that the width of the material being cut may be varied. Two high powered drive motors are provided, one for each bank of saw blades. An additional reduced speed drive is provided for the feed rollers.
Safety features such as a cover for the entire machine, side tension rollers and a guide fence, covers for the drive belts and chains, and magnetic off-on switches and heater switches are provided.

Description

This invention relates generally to multiple sawing devices for use in the manufacturing of cant strips for the industrial roofing trade and the like.
A common problem with known prior art devices of this type are that the devices are relatively complicated to adjust, and fail to maintain a set adjustment after the initial adjustment thereof.
Another common problem is that a number of the known devices using multiple saw blades have saw blades of different diameters to accomplish the end result. A great disadvantage of this type device is in the different rates of wear for the different diameter saw blades.
Known prior art U.S. patents which may be pertinent to this invention are as follows:
H.A. Current 136,216 Feb. 25, 1873 G. Morgan et al 149,327 April 7, 1874 J.T. Hall321,716 July 7, 1885 S.D. Riegal386,035 July 10, 1888 W.F. Barnes683,015 Sept. 24, 1901 M.P. Burrows 1,818,300 August 11, 1931 L.A. Holan3,625,269 Dec. 7, 1971 None of these known prior art devices offer the new and unique features of the invention disclosed herein.
An object of the present invention is to provide a multiple sawing machine for producing cant strips for the industrial roofing trade.
Two banks of multiple saw blades set at approximately 45 degree angles to the main support surface are utilized to effect this object.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cant strip machine which will greatly increase the amount of daily production of cant strips as compared to the number produced by conventional type sawing machines.
The present invention relates to a cant strip sawing machine comprising means for simultaneously sawing multiple cant strips for use in the industrial roofing trade including a support frame, means on the support :3 rw~

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frame for adjustably mounting two banks of saw blade assemblies, means provided for positively feeding material to be cut lengthwise into the banks of saw blade assemblies for the purpose of producing high speed cutting of a large number of cant strips simultaneously, the means for adjustably mounting the two banks of saw blade assemblies including a plurality of transverse bars across the width of the support frame, with each bank of saw blade assemblies having individual adjustments for each respective blade assembly associated with the transverse bars.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the machine further includes intermediate drive shafts appropriately supported on the support frame together with adjustable means between each individual saw blade assembly and the closest associated intermediate drive shaft for permitting accurate adjustments of the width of cant strips to be cut as well as tension adjustments for the drive means for the saw blade assemblies.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the machine is provided with means for positively feeding material to be cut including at least a single feed roller mounted transversely of the support frame.
These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the attached drawings:
Figure 1 is a top plan view of the cant strip sawing machine of this invention.
Figure 2 is a left side view of the machine of this invention.
Figure 3 is a front end view, partly in cross section, of the machine of this invention.
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of one of the saw blade 29 arbor assembl~es for use with the machine of this invention.

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Referring to Figure 3 of the drawings, reference numeral 10 indicates the over-all cant strip sawing machine of this invention. The main frame for the machine consists of hollow steel tubing sections 12 and 13 normally from cold rolled stock and of approximately 3 inches by 12 inches in cross section and of appropriate size to make an over-all frame of 4 feet 4 inches by 6 feet 10 inches outside dimensions. Where the pieces abut at the corners appropriaté welding, not shown, is used to securely fasten the steel tubing together. Beneath the four corners of the main frame structure are welded support legs 14. These support legs 14 consist of two flat, half inch stock, triangular shaped pieces welded at the corners where they abut with two pieces being provided and ,,~, , .~ - 3 -rw~

appropriately welded at each corner of the main frame structure a8 best seen ln Figures 1 and 2. An optional bottom plate 16 for said legs may al~o be provided.
Now viewing Figure 2, the supports for the saw blade assemblies will be described. Two sets of twin cro~sbars 118 cut from four inch by four inch steel tublng are set approximately two lnches apart to accommcdate the bases for the saw arbors. These steel tubes 118 are appropriately welded to the side frame members 12 underneath thereof. Dovetail ways 120 are centered on the top of each of said cro6sbars and serve a~ guides for the adjustable saw blade assemblies.
Intermediate trive shafts 21 and 23 are supported frcm appropriate bearing mounts 24. The intermediate drive shaft 21 i9 supported approximately the middle of the frame and the intermediate trive shaft 23 is supportet at3a-cent the front of the support table. One end of each of said intermediate trive shafts has a touble pulley 110 thereon for transfer of power from a tor-driven pulley 112 by means of V-cog belts, as best 6een in Figures 1 and

3. Two motors 20,22 Of approximately 15 horsepower apiece are appropriately supported on a supporting crossbar 28 and motor support mounts 30.0bviously appropriate mounting adjustment means are provitet for each of said tor mounts to permit proper alignment of the trive pulleys 112 with the belts ant upper driven pulleys 110. The V-type cog belts are inticated by reference numeral 113. Appropriate belt cover guards 111 are also provided on each side of the machines to protect the operator and other workers from any contact with the revolving pulleys and belts. This is an important safety feature to meet with OSHA standards.
As viewed in Figure 1 the intermediate drive shafts 21 and 23 must be completely removed from the machine in order to replace the drive belts for the saw arbor assemblies. However, to reduce the replacement time for worn belts an adequate supply of same may be stored at one end of the intermediate drive shafts for use whenever necessary. This invention also provides for a shortening of said intermediate shafts 21 and 23 so that the bearing 24' on the end of said shaft opposite to the drive pulley 110 may be easily removed by simply removing bolts 25. With the shortened drive shaft 21 terminatin8 just inside of the frame member 12, this end of the drive shaft is rai~ed for replace-~06617Z
ment of pulley~ 119 and the corresponding saw blade drive belts. The corre-sponding opposite end of intermediate drive shaft 23 may also be 80 shortened with the bearing block for said end also being readily removable, not shown.
The ~aw arbors, their special shape and special function are very important features of ~his machine. The base of the arbors are each individual bases, preferably made from one-half inch thick steel approximately three inche~
by twelve inches. Centered on the underside of the base, a two inch wide by one-half inch thick steel bar is connected to the base by two 5/16" countersunk screws. This bar extends downward approximately 4-1/4 inche~ through the two inch space between the crossbars 118 and i8 drilled and tapped for an Allen screw (3/8 inch). Another one-half inch thick by four inch steel bar drilled through the center bridges the underside of the crossbars 118. The 3/8 inch Allen screw clamps the one-half inch by four inch steel bar and the connecting bar from the base tightly to the two crossbars 118. Both the clamp and the arbor base are fitted with sliding ~ays to keep them at a perfect 90 degree angle to the crossbars.
The arbor saw assembly support structure, best seen in Figure 4, consists of the following. A solid steel saw assembly bracket 201 is appropri-ately machined in the shape as shown. Appropriate apertures are bored in the 20 upper end of the member 201 for reception of ball bearings 205 and 206. These bearings preferably are press-fitted into the bracket 201. The saw arbor 202 is then inserted within the bearings, said arbor 202 having an enlarged headed portion 209 and a central shaft portion 207. One end of said saw arbor shaft is appropriately machined for reception of a saw blade up to twelve inches in diameter and appropriate locking means such as a locknut shown in broken lines may be used. The other end of arbor 202 has a locking ring 212 and a saw arbor pulley 203 mounted thereon, and locking or fastening screw 204 for said pulley for appropriately fastening the pulley to the shaft for driving purposes.
The other end of the saw arbor support member 201 has appropriate apertures provided therein for reception of short and long socket head type cap screws 211 for the purpose of attaching the saw bracket to adjusting slide 220.
Looking at Figure 2, the adjusting slide 220 can be seen mounted upon the arbor base plate 222 which has complementary dovetail slots therein for sl~dable ~066~72 mo~ement along the dovetail members 120. The arbor base 222 is ad3ustably secured to the transverse bars 118 by means 224 and 226. The support means 224 has appropriate clamping plates 225 which engage either side of the bars 118 for clamping thereto by means of the locking 3crew 226. Thus it can be readily visualized that each individual saw arbor mounted upon the above described structure can be slid sideway~ or transversely of the over-all machine on the transverse bars 118. Once the desired setting between the individual saw arbor supports is achieved the locking screws 226 for each individual arbor assembly are secured to fasten the saw arbors in place. The base support plate 220 msy be ad3usted longitudinally of the machine by means of the locking screw and nut thereon 221 for the purpose of increasing or decreaslng the individual saw drive belt tensions. The front bank of saw blades are labelled 300 while the secondary or rear bank of saw blades are labelled 200'. Drive belts 302 and 302' are appropriately connected between the driv-ing pulleys 119 and 119' mounted on the intermediate drive shafts 23 and 21.
As can best be seen in Figure 3, all the saw blades 300 are angled to the left as viewed from the front of the machine while all of the fiecondary saw blades 300' are angled to the right as viewed from the same position. Thus the banks of saw blades are basically perpendicular to each other and are in a respec-tive plane of approximately 45 degrees from the table horizontal plane.
Saw blades up to 12 inches in diameter may be used with this machiue.Once the blades are installed on the arbor a~semblies and the drive belts properly ad3usted for tension and the horizontal spacing between the respec-tive saw blade assemblies ad3usted for the desired width of cut, the machine will cut or saw for many hours without any maintenance. Appropriate apertures have been provided in the table surface for passage of the 8aw blades. Filler plates, not shown, are then installed between the saw blades and the balance of the openings in the table. The tabletop or saw bed is also unted by ad3usting means which will permit a slight ad3ustment of said table up to an inch or so. Conventional type fences are provided on both the right and left sides of the table bed, to permit adjustment for different widths of material to be cut. The left side normally is the one which iB ad3us~able. Adjustable side tension roller 3tructure 225' is normally provided within the left fence 1~66~7Z

to hold the material be$ng cut against the right side fence.
A self-feeting mechanism i8 provided for this machine. Thi8 con-sists of the corrugatet feed rollers 407 and 407' approximately unted on the upper portion of the machine by tension bearing mounts 401. The feed rollers 407 and 407' are preferably corrugated steel rollers for gripping and feeding th~ material being sawed. The front drive feed roller 407 is provided there-beneath with a lower idler roller 403, best seen in Figure 3. Ball bearing support assemblies 408 are appropriately provided for the shats of each of said rollers. A sprocket 402 is provided at one end of the feed roller shaft and appropriately connected by a chain drive 426. The chain drive is appro-priately driven from a small electrical tor 415, preferably of approximately 1-1/2 horsepower which has reduction transmission 414 to reduce the output speed for the purpose of driving the chain and gearings for the feed rollers.
A safety cover, not sho~n, is appropriately provided for covering the entire top of the machine once all the ad~ustments have been made and the ~achine is ready to be put into operation. Appropriate saiety switches of the magnetic on-off type together with a reversible feed switch for the feet rollers are all unted in a switch panel 60 shown in Figure 1. Appropriate over-load fusing may also be provided within this panel.
Another feature envisioned by this invention is sawdust collection means provided ad~acent the saw blade assemblies either on top of the table bed or underneath thereof.

Claims (13)

The embodiments of the invention, in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed, are defined as follows:

1. A cant strip sawing machine comprising; means for simultaneously sawing multiple cant strips for use in the industrial roofing trade including a support frame, means on said support frame for adjustably mounting the banks of saw blade assemblies, means provided for positively feeding material to be cut lengthwise into said banks of saw blade assemblies for the purpose of pro-ducing high speed cutting of a large number of cant strips simultaneously, the means for adjustably mounting the two banks of saw blade assemblies including a plurality of transverse bars across the width of the support frame, with each bank of saw blade assemblies having individual adjustments for each respective blade assembly associated with the transverse bars, and further including inter-mediate drive shafts appropriately supported on the said support frame together with adjustable means between each individual saw blade assembly and the closest associated intermediate drive shaft for permitting accurate adjustments of the width of cant strips to be cut as well as tension adjustments for the drive means for the saw blade assemblies.

2. A cant strip sawing machine comprising; means for simultaneously sawing multiple cant strips for use in the industrial roofing trade including a support frame, means on said support frame for adjustably mounting two banks of saw blade assemblies, and means provided for positively feeding material to be cut lengthwise into said banks of saw blade assemblies for the purpose of pro-ducing high speed cutting of a large number of cant strips simultaneously, the means for adjustably mounting the two banks of saw blade assemblies including a plurality of transverse bars across the width of the support frame, with each bank of saw blade assemblies having individual adjustments for each respective blade assembly associated with the transverse bars, and the means provided for positively feeding material to be cut including at least a single feed roller mounted transversely of the support frame.

3. The structure as set forth in claim 2, wherein the feed means includes two feed rollers of corrugated steel with one of said feed rollers being in front of the first bank of saw blade assemblies and the second of said feed rollers being at the rear of the second bank of saw blade assemblies.

4. The structure as set forth in claim 3, together with additional tension adjusting means for each feed roller and with the front of said feed rollers including an idler roller associated therewith.

5. The structure as set forth in claim 4, including intermediate drive shafts appropriately supported on the said support frame together with adjustable means between each individual saw blade assembly and the associated drive shafts for permitting adjustments of the width of cant strips to be cut as well as tension adjustments for the drive means for the saw blade assemblies.

6. The structure as set forth in claim 5, together with safety device means mounted on the support frame to protect the operator and associated workers from injury.

7. The structure as set forth in claim 6, wherein the safety device means includes a switch panel having magnetic on-and-off switches and a revers-ing switch for the feed rollers.

8. The structure as set forth in claim 5, including three drive motors, one of said drive motors driving the first bank of saw blade assem-blies, the second of said drive motors driving the second bank of saw blade assemblies, and the third drive motor connected for driving the feed rollers.

9. The structure as set forth in claim 8, wherein the driving con-nection between the first two drive motors and their respective banks of saw blade assemblies comprise belt and pulley connecting means.

10. The structure as set forth in claim 9, wherein the drive con-nection between the third drive motor and the feed rollers includes a chain and sprocket type drive connection structure.

11. The structure as set forth in claim 10, wherein the first bank of saw blade assemblies includes saw blades in a plane 45 degrees from the horizontal, and the second bank of saw blade assemblies includes saw blades in a plane at an angle 45 degrees from the horizontal but opposite in orientation to the first bank of saw blades so the respective planes of the saw blades are perpendicular to each other.

12. The structure as set forth in claim 5, wherein the first bank of saw blade assemblies include saw blades in a plane 45 degrees from the horizontal, and the second bank of saw blade assemblies include saw blades in a plane at an angle 45 degrees from the horizontal but opposite in orientation to the first bank of saw blades so the respective planes of the saw blades are perpendicular to each other.

13. The structure as set forth in claim 12, including safety covers over the drive connections for the protection of the operator of the machine and associated workers.