CA1140431A - Sawmill work feeding and product handling apparatus - Google Patents
Sawmill work feeding and product handling apparatusInfo
- Publication number
- CA1140431A CA1140431A CA000376387A CA376387A CA1140431A CA 1140431 A CA1140431 A CA 1140431A CA 000376387 A CA000376387 A CA 000376387A CA 376387 A CA376387 A CA 376387A CA 1140431 A CA1140431 A CA 1140431A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- log
- sawmill
- rollers
- frame
- pair
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
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- Processing Of Meat And Fish (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
Opposed parallel supporting rollers of a log receiving and turning assembly are rotated in order to rotate the log received thereon. The rollers are carried by a same which is lifted or lowered, as desired, and a bar between the rollers is titable so as to lift selectively one end of the log or the other. By such an arrangement the log is oriented so that a pair of dogs engage the log from opposite ends. These dogs are carried by an overhead carriage assemblies which ride on tracks and are movable with respect to each other by means of hydraulic cylinder. One dog is rotatable by a motor through 90° so as to orient the log. The carriage assemblies are movable in a longitudinal direction so that a pair of saws, driven by motors, will simultaneously cut the logs on opposite sides so as to deposit the boards, when cut from the log, on respective conveyors which carry the boards longitudinally away from the saws. The saws are adjustable laterally for different widths of log. The conveyors pivot for selective feeding to one or the other of parallel discharge conveyors. The cant is discharged by a central conveyor.
Opposed parallel supporting rollers of a log receiving and turning assembly are rotated in order to rotate the log received thereon. The rollers are carried by a same which is lifted or lowered, as desired, and a bar between the rollers is titable so as to lift selectively one end of the log or the other. By such an arrangement the log is oriented so that a pair of dogs engage the log from opposite ends. These dogs are carried by an overhead carriage assemblies which ride on tracks and are movable with respect to each other by means of hydraulic cylinder. One dog is rotatable by a motor through 90° so as to orient the log. The carriage assemblies are movable in a longitudinal direction so that a pair of saws, driven by motors, will simultaneously cut the logs on opposite sides so as to deposit the boards, when cut from the log, on respective conveyors which carry the boards longitudinally away from the saws. The saws are adjustable laterally for different widths of log. The conveyors pivot for selective feeding to one or the other of parallel discharge conveyors. The cant is discharged by a central conveyor.
Description
^r 43~l SAWMILL WORK FEEDING AND
PRODUCT HANDLIN~ APPAR~TUS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a sawmill and is more particularly concerned with a device for automatically supporting and feeding a log to the saws of a sawmill.
PRODUCT HANDLIN~ APPAR~TUS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a sawmill and is more particularly concerned with a device for automatically supporting and feeding a log to the saws of a sawmill.
2. Background of the Invention In the past, automatic sawmills have been devised which feed the logs to opposed blades which simultaneously slice boards from opposite sides of the log as the log is reciprocated in a suspended condition carried by dogs which hold the logs at opposite ends. Such prior art machines have also rotated the logs through 90 and, indeed, through 360 so that the boards may be cut from the logs, as the operator sees fit.
The applicant is aware of the following United States Patents relating to such prior art machtnes: 3,835,978, 3,747,455,
The applicant is aware of the following United States Patents relating to such prior art machtnes: 3,835,978, 3,747,455,
3,872,758 and 3,889,556.
Furthermore, machines having the same board discharge assembly, the same saw assembly and the same log lifting and turning assembly have been used and sold more than one year prior to this application.
SUMMAR~r OF THE INVENTION
In one broad aspect, the invention pertains to a sawmill of the type having a frame with a saw means for cutting slabs and boards from a log as it is reciprocated along a linear path, the log being suspended by dogs. The improvement includes a pair of opposed parallel main rails disposed in a common horizonta]
plane and carried ~y the frame, a central monorail disposed parallel to and carried by the frame above and between the main rails, and a main carriage having a main plate and wheels mounted for rotation on the plate, the wheels riding on the rails for supporting the main carriage for reciprocal movement longitudinally - 2 - ~ ~J
~4~3~
long the Erame and for preventing appreciable pivo-ting or tilting of the plate. An auxiliary carriage has an auxiliary plate and a pair of wheels rotatably mounted for rotation on the plate and riding respectively on the rails for supporting an end portion of the auxiliary plate for movement longitudinally along the frame. The auxiliary carriage is rearwardly of the main carriage in the frame, the auxiliary carriage also having roller means supported by and riding on the monorail and spaced in a longitudinal direction from the pair of wheels for supporting another portion of the auxiliary plate. The wheels and the roller means prevent appreciable pivoting or tilting of the auxiliary plate. A pair of struts extend downwardly respectively from the main plate and the auxiliary plate for respectively supporting the dogs. Control means connected between the main carriage and the auxiliary carriage provide for progressively altering the position of such carriages with respect to each other for moving the dogs into and out of clamping positions with respect to the ends of a log position between the dogs, and drive means drive one of the carriages with respect to the frame whereby the dogs move the log in a linear path past the saw means for cutting action of the saw means.
More particularly, the present invention provides a frame structure having opposed horizontal channel members which confine the longitudinally and transversely spaced wheels of a main carriage assembly for traveling in a longitudinal direction.
Connected to the carriage assembly is a hydraulic cylinder, the piston of which is connected to an auxiliary carriage assembly having a pair of wheels on opposite sides which ride in the opposed channel members. Rearwardly o~ the opposed wheels of the auxiliary carriage assembly is a single upstanding central wheel carried between a pair of upstanding brackets. A pair of spaced, opposed guide rollers, are received on opposite sides of the web of an I beam, the rollers riding along a V-shaped track protruding from the lower surface of the lower flange of ,,, ~t L3~L
the I beam. The main carriage assembly carries a motor which rotates one of the dogs and the auxiliary carriage assembly carries the other dog which is freely rotatable.
In the forward position of the machine below the retracted position of the main carriage assembly is a log lifting and turning assembly which raises and lowers a log, rotates the log and lifts one end or the other of the log so as to align one or both ends of the log for being clamped between the dogs by actuation of the cylinder. The carriage assembly is moved longitudinally by means of cables driven from a drum which is driven by a reversible motor.
When suspended between the dogs and moved forwardly, the log is carried between opposed circular saws of a saw assembly which, upon reciprocation of the log, progressively cuts opposite sides of the log to provide slabs and then boards from the log, leaving the central cant which is dropped onto a central conveyor.
The slabs and the boards are fed by outer conveyors selectively to a slab conveyor or to the board conveyor.
Accordingly, the present invention seeks to provide a sawmill which will receive successive logs, firmly clamp them by their ends and reciprocate each log along a linear path for cutting action of a saw or saws.
Other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
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i BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRA~ING .
1.
Il Fig. lA is a side ele~tional ~lew oi a portion o~ ~ .
Ii sawmill constructed in accordance ~ith the pres~nt inveDtion;
' Fig. lB is a ~ide elevational Yiew of another portion o ¦ the sawmill depicted in Fig. lA;
1, ! Fig. 2 is a cro~-sectlonal vie~ t&ken sub~taatlally ¦ along line 2-2 in Fig. lA;
!
Fig. 3 is a cro~s-sectlonal view taken sub3tantially ~O~
¦ line 3-3 in Fig. lB;
1,' .
:
10 , Fig~ 4 is a ~ragmentary ~erspectl~ view o~ the log receiving and positioning ~ssembly o~ thQ ~awmill deplcted i~ Fig ; lA; .
. Il, .
. ' ~V43 I Fig. 5 is a iragmentary top plan view o~ a portion o~
! the assembly depicted ln Fig. 4;
, Fig. 6 is an e~ploded fragmentary per~pective v~ew o~
j the rail and maln carriage assembly o~ the sawm~ll depicted in ! Fi~. 1 and Figc lB; and Fig. 7 is a Pragmentary ~er~pective view of the aux~liary carrlagQ assembly ol' the sawmlll depicted i~ Fig. lA a~c Fig. lB; and Fig. 8 is a fragmantary exploded per~ectir~ view of the O saw assembly.
. .
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED E.~BODIMENT
I . _ ¦Re~erring now in detall to the embodiment chosen ior th purpose o~ illustratlng the present illvention, it being understoo ~hat in its broad aspects, the present inventio~ is not limited t the exact d~tails herein ~epicted, numeral 10 denote~ g~nerally an open, elo~ated, rectangular, ma~n ~rame which includeY a pair o~
spac~d, parallel, longltudinally e~tending, "I" beams 11 which e~tend throughout the length o~ ths machine~ A plurality o~
I longitudinally ~paced~ transversely dlsposed, parallel cross-beam ¦ 13 ~oin the "I" beams 11 to ~or~ a rlgid base. The "I" beams 11 and 13 are mounted with their webs uprlgh$, the "I" beam~ 13 bein n~rrower than the "I" beams 11 as seen best in Figs . 2 and 3 .
E~tending over and secured to the l'orwardmost tra~svers j beams 13 are a pair o~ lorlgitud~nally extendlng, opposed, parallel, support "I" beams 15. The t'I" beams 15 support the log llfting and turning assembly, seen best in Fig. 4. An "I" beam , shown .
1:~L4~)431 in Fig. 3, extends longitudlnally along the centerli~e o~ the frame, rearwardly of the "I" beams 15.
I ~lounted on the "I" beams`ll are the longitudinally and i transversely spaced, upstanding, "I" beam struts 20. Opposed 1 pairs of the struts 20 support the transversely extending, upper .
¦I support beams 210 Fillets 22 reinforce the inverted U-shaped : ~, frames which are formed by the struts 20 and beam 21.
:' I' ' . - . .
il As seen in Figs. 2 and 3 9 the forward group oi upper I beams 21 are respectively provided with transversely opposed 10 . spaced pairs of longitudinally spaced and aligned downwardly protruding braces 23, the inner surfaces of which carry a pair o~
Il opposed, parallel, faciDg, longitudinally extending, horizontally ¦l, disposed, channel member tracks ~4 which e~tend from essentially . ¦I the iront of the machine, rearwardly throughout the length o~ the i~ frame 10. The inner surfaces of the upper and lower ledges or .
flanges of the opposed tracXs 24 are provlded ~ith angle iroDs : ~ which form vertic~lly aligned pairs of opposed lnwardly protrudin ¦¦ V-shape~ guides 25.
1~i . . .
¦¦ Extendi~g between the opposed pairs of braces 23 and 20 j secured to the bottoms of beams 21 are cross bars 26, the functio ¦ of which is to carry in a horizontally longitudinally e~$ending ¦I monorail or central track 28 which is an "I" beam with its web ¦I disposed vertically. The upper flange of the "I" beam 28 is j' secured to the lower central portion of the crossbars 26 so that ¦ the lower flanges of the "I" beam forms laterally e~tendin~
¦, flanges defining an unobstructed track throughout its length from a position inward1y of the front of frame 10 to the rear end ' portion of the frame 10. Longitudinally spaced, upstandi~g posts li , V~3~L
!;
. 30, ~hich are inwardly of the struts 2G, support the outer track 24 as seen in Fig. lA and Fig. 2.
. Within the forward portion of the main frame 10 is the hydraulic system including a hydraulic fluid reservoir tank 31, .
, seen in Fig. lA, on which is ~ounted an electric motor M10 which ¦I drives a hydraulic pump 33, the pump 33 taking a suction ~ro~ the h~draulic reservoir tank 31 through a pipe 33a and delivering , hydraulic f luid to a pressure control valve 34, the excess 10 j hydraulic fluid being delivered back to ta~k 31 through a return ~ pipe 34a. The various hydraulic lines which are discussed ll hereina~ter receive fluid from the pump 33 through appropriate ¦I remote control valves (not shown).
As best in seen in Figs. 2, 4 and 5, the ~rame 10 receives therein, rearwardly of the hydraulic system, a log .
Il receivi~g and turning assembly, the ~unction of which is to ¦I receive successive logs L and positicn them in appropriate ¦ positions to be clamped by their ends between a pair o~ dogs 94 : , and 140 so that the lo~ L may, thereafter, be suspended a~d l~carrled,:therebetween, r~ar~ardly and then ~orwardly ln a }ongitudinal linear path. This log receiving and- turning assembl~
includes a pair of upstanding longitudinally aligned, centrally ! disposed, guide brackets 35 which are mounted at the center I portion of a pair of the cross beams 13. A pair of opposed, i upstanding, Y-shaped, roller supporting, slide plates 36 are disposed inwardly o~ the inner ~langes o~ the brackets 35, the slide plates 36 having opposed pairs of vertically disposed . L-shaped guide members 37 which are secured to the outer surfaces 'i. of the slide plates 36 so that the opposed pair o~ guide members 30 I'l 1ll . , , . . :
! -8-
Furthermore, machines having the same board discharge assembly, the same saw assembly and the same log lifting and turning assembly have been used and sold more than one year prior to this application.
SUMMAR~r OF THE INVENTION
In one broad aspect, the invention pertains to a sawmill of the type having a frame with a saw means for cutting slabs and boards from a log as it is reciprocated along a linear path, the log being suspended by dogs. The improvement includes a pair of opposed parallel main rails disposed in a common horizonta]
plane and carried ~y the frame, a central monorail disposed parallel to and carried by the frame above and between the main rails, and a main carriage having a main plate and wheels mounted for rotation on the plate, the wheels riding on the rails for supporting the main carriage for reciprocal movement longitudinally - 2 - ~ ~J
~4~3~
long the Erame and for preventing appreciable pivo-ting or tilting of the plate. An auxiliary carriage has an auxiliary plate and a pair of wheels rotatably mounted for rotation on the plate and riding respectively on the rails for supporting an end portion of the auxiliary plate for movement longitudinally along the frame. The auxiliary carriage is rearwardly of the main carriage in the frame, the auxiliary carriage also having roller means supported by and riding on the monorail and spaced in a longitudinal direction from the pair of wheels for supporting another portion of the auxiliary plate. The wheels and the roller means prevent appreciable pivoting or tilting of the auxiliary plate. A pair of struts extend downwardly respectively from the main plate and the auxiliary plate for respectively supporting the dogs. Control means connected between the main carriage and the auxiliary carriage provide for progressively altering the position of such carriages with respect to each other for moving the dogs into and out of clamping positions with respect to the ends of a log position between the dogs, and drive means drive one of the carriages with respect to the frame whereby the dogs move the log in a linear path past the saw means for cutting action of the saw means.
More particularly, the present invention provides a frame structure having opposed horizontal channel members which confine the longitudinally and transversely spaced wheels of a main carriage assembly for traveling in a longitudinal direction.
Connected to the carriage assembly is a hydraulic cylinder, the piston of which is connected to an auxiliary carriage assembly having a pair of wheels on opposite sides which ride in the opposed channel members. Rearwardly o~ the opposed wheels of the auxiliary carriage assembly is a single upstanding central wheel carried between a pair of upstanding brackets. A pair of spaced, opposed guide rollers, are received on opposite sides of the web of an I beam, the rollers riding along a V-shaped track protruding from the lower surface of the lower flange of ,,, ~t L3~L
the I beam. The main carriage assembly carries a motor which rotates one of the dogs and the auxiliary carriage assembly carries the other dog which is freely rotatable.
In the forward position of the machine below the retracted position of the main carriage assembly is a log lifting and turning assembly which raises and lowers a log, rotates the log and lifts one end or the other of the log so as to align one or both ends of the log for being clamped between the dogs by actuation of the cylinder. The carriage assembly is moved longitudinally by means of cables driven from a drum which is driven by a reversible motor.
When suspended between the dogs and moved forwardly, the log is carried between opposed circular saws of a saw assembly which, upon reciprocation of the log, progressively cuts opposite sides of the log to provide slabs and then boards from the log, leaving the central cant which is dropped onto a central conveyor.
The slabs and the boards are fed by outer conveyors selectively to a slab conveyor or to the board conveyor.
Accordingly, the present invention seeks to provide a sawmill which will receive successive logs, firmly clamp them by their ends and reciprocate each log along a linear path for cutting action of a saw or saws.
Other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
~ - 4 r--43~
i BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRA~ING .
1.
Il Fig. lA is a side ele~tional ~lew oi a portion o~ ~ .
Ii sawmill constructed in accordance ~ith the pres~nt inveDtion;
' Fig. lB is a ~ide elevational Yiew of another portion o ¦ the sawmill depicted in Fig. lA;
1, ! Fig. 2 is a cro~-sectlonal vie~ t&ken sub~taatlally ¦ along line 2-2 in Fig. lA;
!
Fig. 3 is a cro~s-sectlonal view taken sub3tantially ~O~
¦ line 3-3 in Fig. lB;
1,' .
:
10 , Fig~ 4 is a ~ragmentary ~erspectl~ view o~ the log receiving and positioning ~ssembly o~ thQ ~awmill deplcted i~ Fig ; lA; .
. Il, .
. ' ~V43 I Fig. 5 is a iragmentary top plan view o~ a portion o~
! the assembly depicted ln Fig. 4;
, Fig. 6 is an e~ploded fragmentary per~pective v~ew o~
j the rail and maln carriage assembly o~ the sawm~ll depicted in ! Fi~. 1 and Figc lB; and Fig. 7 is a Pragmentary ~er~pective view of the aux~liary carrlagQ assembly ol' the sawmlll depicted i~ Fig. lA a~c Fig. lB; and Fig. 8 is a fragmantary exploded per~ectir~ view of the O saw assembly.
. .
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED E.~BODIMENT
I . _ ¦Re~erring now in detall to the embodiment chosen ior th purpose o~ illustratlng the present illvention, it being understoo ~hat in its broad aspects, the present inventio~ is not limited t the exact d~tails herein ~epicted, numeral 10 denote~ g~nerally an open, elo~ated, rectangular, ma~n ~rame which includeY a pair o~
spac~d, parallel, longltudinally e~tending, "I" beams 11 which e~tend throughout the length o~ ths machine~ A plurality o~
I longitudinally ~paced~ transversely dlsposed, parallel cross-beam ¦ 13 ~oin the "I" beams 11 to ~or~ a rlgid base. The "I" beams 11 and 13 are mounted with their webs uprlgh$, the "I" beam~ 13 bein n~rrower than the "I" beams 11 as seen best in Figs . 2 and 3 .
E~tending over and secured to the l'orwardmost tra~svers j beams 13 are a pair o~ lorlgitud~nally extendlng, opposed, parallel, support "I" beams 15. The t'I" beams 15 support the log llfting and turning assembly, seen best in Fig. 4. An "I" beam , shown .
1:~L4~)431 in Fig. 3, extends longitudlnally along the centerli~e o~ the frame, rearwardly of the "I" beams 15.
I ~lounted on the "I" beams`ll are the longitudinally and i transversely spaced, upstanding, "I" beam struts 20. Opposed 1 pairs of the struts 20 support the transversely extending, upper .
¦I support beams 210 Fillets 22 reinforce the inverted U-shaped : ~, frames which are formed by the struts 20 and beam 21.
:' I' ' . - . .
il As seen in Figs. 2 and 3 9 the forward group oi upper I beams 21 are respectively provided with transversely opposed 10 . spaced pairs of longitudinally spaced and aligned downwardly protruding braces 23, the inner surfaces of which carry a pair o~
Il opposed, parallel, faciDg, longitudinally extending, horizontally ¦l, disposed, channel member tracks ~4 which e~tend from essentially . ¦I the iront of the machine, rearwardly throughout the length o~ the i~ frame 10. The inner surfaces of the upper and lower ledges or .
flanges of the opposed tracXs 24 are provlded ~ith angle iroDs : ~ which form vertic~lly aligned pairs of opposed lnwardly protrudin ¦¦ V-shape~ guides 25.
1~i . . .
¦¦ Extendi~g between the opposed pairs of braces 23 and 20 j secured to the bottoms of beams 21 are cross bars 26, the functio ¦ of which is to carry in a horizontally longitudinally e~$ending ¦I monorail or central track 28 which is an "I" beam with its web ¦I disposed vertically. The upper flange of the "I" beam 28 is j' secured to the lower central portion of the crossbars 26 so that ¦ the lower flanges of the "I" beam forms laterally e~tendin~
¦, flanges defining an unobstructed track throughout its length from a position inward1y of the front of frame 10 to the rear end ' portion of the frame 10. Longitudinally spaced, upstandi~g posts li , V~3~L
!;
. 30, ~hich are inwardly of the struts 2G, support the outer track 24 as seen in Fig. lA and Fig. 2.
. Within the forward portion of the main frame 10 is the hydraulic system including a hydraulic fluid reservoir tank 31, .
, seen in Fig. lA, on which is ~ounted an electric motor M10 which ¦I drives a hydraulic pump 33, the pump 33 taking a suction ~ro~ the h~draulic reservoir tank 31 through a pipe 33a and delivering , hydraulic f luid to a pressure control valve 34, the excess 10 j hydraulic fluid being delivered back to ta~k 31 through a return ~ pipe 34a. The various hydraulic lines which are discussed ll hereina~ter receive fluid from the pump 33 through appropriate ¦I remote control valves (not shown).
As best in seen in Figs. 2, 4 and 5, the ~rame 10 receives therein, rearwardly of the hydraulic system, a log .
Il receivi~g and turning assembly, the ~unction of which is to ¦I receive successive logs L and positicn them in appropriate ¦ positions to be clamped by their ends between a pair o~ dogs 94 : , and 140 so that the lo~ L may, thereafter, be suspended a~d l~carrled,:therebetween, r~ar~ardly and then ~orwardly ln a }ongitudinal linear path. This log receiving and- turning assembl~
includes a pair of upstanding longitudinally aligned, centrally ! disposed, guide brackets 35 which are mounted at the center I portion of a pair of the cross beams 13. A pair of opposed, i upstanding, Y-shaped, roller supporting, slide plates 36 are disposed inwardly o~ the inner ~langes o~ the brackets 35, the slide plates 36 having opposed pairs of vertically disposed . L-shaped guide members 37 which are secured to the outer surfaces 'i. of the slide plates 36 so that the opposed pair o~ guide members 30 I'l 1ll . , , . . :
! -8-
4~3 431 !
i.
37 on each of the slide plates 36 encompass the edge portions of the inner flanges o~ the associated bracket 35 to permit vertical, sliding of the slide plate 36 along the length o~ the upstanding ¦
' bracket 35.
I It will be understood that the upper end o~ each slide plate 36 is bi~urcated, having a pair of diverging legs which respectively carry~at their outer and upper end portions, pillow blocks 38 ~hich journal shafts 39 on the end portion~ of . these legs. The shafts ~39 support a pair o~ longitudinally extending, transversely spaced, parallel, longitudinally spine~, rollers 40 which are longer than the average length of a log L an~
are spaced apart by a distance less than the diameter of the ¦, smallest typical log L so as to cradle the log L between the ~i rollers 40 and thereby roll the log L :in one direction or the other ~hen the rollers 40 are rotated ,simultaneously in one direction or the other.
I , For drivin~ the rollers 40 a hydraulic motor M-l ~ seen ln Figs. lA, 2 and 4, suppIied with hydraulic iluid from pump 33 through controls ~no$ shown) is carried by a sidewise extendi~g bracket 41 on a longitudinally extending bar 42 mounted on a : longer, longitudinally e~tending, bar 43 fi~ed between the slide ¦ plates 36 for movement therewith. This bracket 41 also supports pair o~ pillow blocks 44 ~hich journal a power transfex sha~t 45, i the shaft 45 being driven by a sprocket 46 around which a chain 47 Il extends, the chain 47 also extending around a sprocket 48 on the i motor Ml. Sha~t 45 drives a pair of sprockets 49 which 1 respectively driv~ chains 50 for driving sprockets 51 ~onnec.ted ¦, respectively to the sha~ts 39. Thus, rollers 40 are selectively ,~ rotated in one direction or the other, in synchronization, by _g_ , 1140~33L
i, , .
'I
¦ motor Ml. This causes rotation of log L clockwise or counter ¦ clockwise on rollers 4C).
!
i The rear end portion of the bar ~2 as seen in Fig. lA
i and 4 is provided with a fixed, inverted, U-shaped, upstanding ~ strap 52, on wpich is mounted a pair of upstanding transversely ` .
¦1 opposed brackets 53, between which are supported a transverse . .
pivot pin 54, the piYot pin 54 receiving a central downwardly extending mounting bracket 55 mQunted on the lower central portio~
of a central, longitudinally extending, tilt or rocker arm 56.
The ends of the tilt ar~ 56 ar~ provided with upwardly dive~gi~g flanges 57. Pivo-tally mounted on the rear end of the bar 42 is a ¦ double acting hydraulic cylinder 58 having a piston rod 59, the end of rod 59 being pivotally connec1ted to one end portion o~ th~
tilt arm 56. By manipulation of the hydraulio fluid to cyli~der 1 58, the tilt arm 56 may be rocked, as desired, so that the upstanding flanges 57 move upwardly and downwardly between the ¦ rolls 40 for conta-ting the-bottom periphery at one end portion o~
the other of the log L so as to lift, incrementally and : ¦ selectively, one end portion or the other o~ the log L off o~ the 20 ! rollers 40~ -~ 1 , ~
: :It ~ill be understood that an infeed co~veyor C, shown in broken lines in Fig. 2/ feeds ~uccessive logs L to the rolls 4C
so that a log L is supported in a central position extending longitudinally along thP centerline of the frame lO, as shown by broken lines in Figs. lA, 2 and 4. ~einforcing struts 59 arre.st ¦¦ lateral movement of the upstanding guide member 35.
Il . ~
3~ I
i' ' I
For raising and lowering the rollers 40, the guideplates . 36, is provided with a pair of longitudinally aligned, inwardly protruding, pins 61 which ride upon the upper camming surfaces ofl a pair of side~ise e~tending lifting levers 62, mounted on t opposite ends o~ a common longitudinally extending shaft 63, all , seen in Fig. 4. The shaft 63 is journallPd by bearings 64 carrieq i by upstanding plates 65, which, in turn, are mounted upon the !~ cross beams 13 and one of the longitudinally extending beams 15. ¦
1~ A hydraulic cylinder 66 has a piston rod 67 t the end portion of .
¦ which is pivotally connected to a downwardly extending lever arm ¦ 68 which is fixed to the sha~t 63. The e~tension of the piston rod 67 will cause rotation o~ the sha~t 63 so that the levers 62 lift the pins 61` and thereby li~t the plates 3~ to raise the I rollers 40. When the piston rod 67 i6; released or returned, the .
! shaft 63 is rotated SQ as to lower the levers 62 and thereby lowe , the slide plates 36 and the rollers 40. There~ore, when a log L
received on the rollers 40, the log L may be raised or lowered by manipulation of hydraulic ~luid to the cylinder 66 throu~h a ¦I control (not sho~n) and the log L may be rotated in one direction 20 li or the other by actuation of~motor Ml. Also lever 56 will li~t I o~e end or the other of log L.
1, . ~ . .
I Above the log receiving and turning assembly is the !i log carrYing assembly, the ~unction o~ which is to support dogs 9 i and 140 for clamping the log L ior movement in a longitudinal pathl ¦l and for rotation through 90 so that the outer portions o~ the lo~
L can be progressively cut by the saw assembly. The log carl~ying¦
¦ assembly includes a main carriage assembly, denoted generally by ,, the numeral 70. This main carriage assembly includes a ~lat ¦ rectangular, horizontally disposed, carriage plate 71 provided at i, both ends with parallel,- transversely extendl~g sha~ts 69, the enc ij . .
ii .
.1', . .
portions o~ which protrude beyond the side edges of the plate 710 The shafts 69 are secured, as by ~elding, to the ends of the plat~
71 and are, therefore, *irmly affixed thereto. The end portion o . the shafts 69 carry respectively the ~vur trans~ersely and longitudinally spaced circumferenctially grooved wheels 73, each of which has a periphery with a V-shaped groove 74 therein. The forwardmost pair o~ wheels 73 have a common transverse a~is an~.
the rear pair of wheels 73 have another common transverse a~is~
Il Furthermore, the shafts 72 are parallel to each other, genérally .
10 li in the horizontal-plane ~f plate 71.
Il . .
¦ A pair of wheels 73 on one side of the main carriage ¦1 assembly 70 is received in one of the tracks 24 while the other ¦I pair of wheels 73 on the other side thereof are received in the other pair of tracks 24~ As pointed out above the guides 25 are vertically aligned and the distance between the apexes o~ these vertically aligned guides 25 is slightly greater than the minimum : ¦ diameter of the grooves o~ ~he wheels There~ore, the guides 25 : ! receive the upper and lower peripherles of wheels 73 and arrest any appreciable lateral movement o~ the wheel~ 73 while permittin 20 I free rotation the~eof as the carriage assembly 70 moves along a longitudinal path de~ined by the opposed channel shaped tracks 24.
On the upper surface of the plate 71 are a pair o~
Il upstanding, longitudinally aligned, spaced, parallel, ¦ complimentary cable receiving brackets 75 which respectively li receive eye bolts 76~ The bolts 76 are e~ternally threaded and jl have he~agonal heads. Each bolt is provided with a pair o~.loc~
¦I nuts 77 which are on opposite sides o~ the plate of its bracXet 7 I!
~1 -12~
lL40431 through which the bolt e~tends. Thus, the position of the bolt 7 may be altered incremently, as desired~ The outer end of each bolt 76 is provided with an eyelet 78 which receives, looped therein, the end of a cable 79. One portion of cable 7g e~tends , forwardly, being wrapped around a drum 80 disposed for rotatio~ a~
I the forward poxtion of the machine, as shown in Fig. lA~. The drum 80 is carried for rotation on and with a shaft 81 journalled by .
pillow blocks 82 on an upstanding mount 83. A hydraulic motor M2 selectively rotates in one direction or the other a sha~t 84 whic~
10 ' carries a sprocket 85 for driving a continuously chain 86 looped ~around a sprocket 87 on the shaft 81. Thus the motor M2 controls the rotation of drum 80 to thereby control the take up or pay out o~ the cable 79- The other end of the cable 79 e~tends over ~ram 10 rearwardly and loops around a sheave 90 carried by a shaft 91, Il ~ournalled on pillow blocks 92 which, in turn, are mounted on a ¦~ mounting block 93 at the rear end portion of the frame 10. The . ¦I cable 79, thence, passes forwardly to be received by the eyelet 7 : i of the rear bolt 77. By supplying hyclraulic fluid from pump M10 i to the motor M2 through a control valve (not shown)g the ~ain ~0 I carriage assembly 70 will be caused to traverse the length o~ $he tracks 24 in a linear path.
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~ ounted by means of bolts (not shown) to the bottom suriace of the plate 71 is a flat rectangular base ~00 best seen ¦¦ in Figo 6, the base 90 having depending ~rom the central portion li thereof, a flat, generally triangular, dog supporting arm 91~ Th ¦' lower end portion of the dog supporting arm 91 1s provided with a bearing housing 92 within whlch are the bearings ~not shown~ whic~
, support, for rotation, a lon`gitudinally e~tending shaft 93 which ', protrudes forwardly and rearwardly f rom the ends o~ housing 92 .
30 , The rear end portion of the shaft 93 carxies a cylindrical dog 94 I .
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which is approximately the same diameter as that o~ diameter of ~the housing 92, the dog 94 having a flat radial ~ace provided ~ith ~forwardly extending and clrcum~erentially spaced prongs or teeth .95 which engage and protrude into the central portion of one end of the log L when the log L ;s appropriately carried by the lo~
carrying assembly. An arm 96, which protrudes ~rom the shait 93 .
radially through a radial slot 97 in housing 92, limits the `
rotation of the shaft 93 to 90.
The ~orward end portion of the shaft 93.is provided with a sprocket 98 around which passes a continuous chain 9~. The other end of the chain 99 passes around a sprocket 100 carried on the end o~ a shait o~ a hydraulic motor ~3 ~hich, in turn~ is mounted on downwardly protruding bracket 101 which is mounted to ¦the bottom surface o~ the base 90, forwardly oi the arm 91~ Thus~
through manipulation of a control (not sho~n), the hydraulic ~luid ~rom pump M10 to the motor M3, will selectively rotate dog ~4 between a 0 position and a 90 rotated position ~or rotati~g log L ~rom an original supported position to a rotated position, . . .
As best seen in Fig. 6, the rear transverse sha~t 72 o~
the main carriage assembly 70 is provided with a pair of rearwardly e~tending brackets 110 having a transver~e pin which pivotally carries one end of a central, axially e~tending, double acting hydraulic cylinder 112, the piston rod 113 of which is . threadedly received by its outer end in an eye link 114, the link 114 being pivotally retained by a transverse pivot pin 115 carried by a pair o~ forwardly extending brackets 116. The brackets 116 Ilare mounted on the central portion o~ a transverse wheel sha~t 1!117, the rear periphery o~ which is ~ixed to the ~orward e~d of a I , I
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;carriage plate 118 of the rear or auxiliary carriage assembly 119 seen in Fig. 7. The ~-arriage plate 118 is a ~lat horizontally disposed, essentially square or rectangular member having a pair of upstanding, opposed, transversely aligned, suspension brackets 120 the upper end portions of which respectively carry spaced~
opposed, inwardly protruding, stub shaf ts 121 which~ in turn, respectively carry upper rollers 122. Rollers 122 are spaced ~rom each other and rotate about a common transverse axis so that the .rollers 122 are adapted to ride upon the upper sur~ace o~ the lower hori~ontal flange of the monorail 'II" beam 28. The lower sur~ace o~ this lower flange of the "I" beam 28 is proYided with a longitudinally extending angle iron ~orming a "V" guide member 123, the flanges of which converge downwardly, as shown in Figs~ 2 .
and 7~
Below the rollers 122 is a transverse bolt 125 ha~ing an .
external nut 126 thereon? the bolt 125 passing through tran~versely aligned holes in the brackets 120 so as to support ior rotation, th~rebetween, a~roller 127 which has a central ;V-shaped groove 128. The upper periphery of the V-shaped grooYe ,128 recelves the guide meDber 123 so that any apprec~able lateral ;~ovement o~ the rear or au~iliary carriage 119 is precluded.
Through manipulation of the fluid ~rom motor M10 through co~trols .
(not shown) to hydraulic cylinder 112, the au~iliary carriage 119 may be drawn toward or pushed away from the main sarriage 70 by e~tension and retraction of piston rod 113.
The shaft 117 is provided with wheels 130 which are identical to the wheels 73 and include the central V-shaped groove 131. This groove 131 is received on the guides 25 as the wheels 130 ride in the rails 24. Thus, the rear or auxiliary carriage i ' '.
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.~' assembly 119 is totally suspended by the overhead monorail 28 and by the side rails 24.
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Mounted by bolts 135 to the bottom sur~ace oP the plate 118 is a flat rectangular or square mounting plate 136 A generally triangular dog carrying arm 137 is mounted in a 'perpendicular or vertical position by its upper end t~ the central ,portion o~ the base 136 and protrudes or depends downwardly, there~rom- The lower end of arm 137 carries a cylindrical bearing housi~g 138 ~ithin which is journalled, by bearings (not shown) a 0 !~central longitudinally e~tending shaft 139, the a~is o~ ~hich is ¦longitudinally aligned with the a~is of shaft 93. The ~ront end portion of this shaft 139 carries the disc shaped dog 140, having , a flat radial face and forwardly protruding circumferentially spaced teeth 141~ The disc 140 is freely rotatable. The dog ox Idisc 140 is.rearwardly of the wheels 130 and ~oxwardly of the ¦Iwheel 127 and the rollers 122. As such, a ma~or portion o~ its ¦,weight is suspended from the monorail 28 by rollers 22 and a minor Iportion ~rom the eide rails 24 by the wheels 130.
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I It will be see~ that the axes o~ piston rod 113 and ,shaft 117 are in the commo~ plane o~ the plates 71 and 118 which is below the axis oi~ wheels 122. The force, therefore, o~ piston rod 113 is at about the centroid o~ rotation with respect to the axls o~ rollers 122. Also, when the auxiliary carriage 11~ is ~'moved ~orwardly for the teeth 141 o~ the rear dog 140 to engage .and project into the reaI end of the log L J the pulling actio~ of the piston rod ll3 is transversely distributed evenly between the lower peripheries o~ the wheels 130 and is also dlstributed ~o the ;rollers 122.
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i When the rear dog 140 engages log L, it tends to pivot the plate 118 about the pivot pin 115 so that the outer periphery of the roller 127 along its central groove 128 engages the surfaces o~ the guide 123 for centering the auxiliary assembly 119 so that it may be more readily pulled by the piston rod 1130 .' When the roller or wheel 127 becomes worn; it can be readily replaced without the necessity of disassembling the other elements of the sawmill. The wheel 127 may be replaced by 'iremoving the nut 126, removing the bolt or pin 125 and sliding the o 'pin out. Roller 127 normally carrles no weight, whatsoever, and can be replaced guite readily. Furthermore, the rollers 122 are i~also readily replaceable and can be removed without disassembly of ¦~other parts of the structure. Therefore, when such rollers 122 ! have worn they can be readily replaced by an unskilled laborerO
The hydraulic lines 142 which supply ~luid to the motor M3 and the hydraulic lines 143 which supply hydraulic ~luid to cylinder 112 are carried by an L-shaped bracket 144 carried by the ¦main carrîage assembly 70, see~ in Fig. 2~ ~o~es 143 connect to l~lpipes 145, the ends of which are ~ixed to and carried by a pivot j,pin 146 supported by pillow bloc~s 147 on bracket 1~4, outwardl~
¦iad~acent braces 23~ In Fig. lA it is seen that the pipes pivotally connect through a pivotal connector 148 to pipes 149 'extend in cantilever fashion ~rom a pivot 141 on ~rame 10. As best seen in Figso lB, 3 and 8, rearwardly of the log receiving and turning assembly, there is a saw assemb~y having a saw ~ox ,~hich includes a pair of spaced opposed laterally movable circular 'saw blades 150 mounted on the inner ~nd portions of a palr o~
spaced, opposed, transversely aligned saw sha~ts 151. These sa~
,shafts 151 are respectively journalled by pillow blocks 152 which, in turn, are mounted on the rear portions o~ the opposed Il .
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¦,upstanding longitudinal walls 161 o~ the opposed pair of laterally movable saw positioni~g frames, denoted generally by the numeral 160. These frames 160 include these spaced, parallel upstanding longitudinaly walls 161, the ends of which are joined by the l.transverse rear end ~all 162 and the ~ront end wall 163. The ¦llower edge portions of the end walls 162 and 163 are provided ~ith ¦IL-shaped slide brackets 164 and 165 which ride on a pair o~ .
transversely extending flat rectangular spaced parallel slide bars 166 and 167, respectively. Brackets, such as brackets 168 and 169, protrude forwardly and downwardly from the iront e~ds 163 and ~rom the rear ends 162, respectively, and each bracket carries an internally threaded sleeves, such as sleeves 170 and 171. The Isleeves 170 which are connected to the brackets 168 have le~t hand ¦threads and the.sleeves 171 have a right hand thread. The ~orward . ¦sleeves 170 and 171 are received on a common forward transverse shaft 173 which is journalled by a central bear~ng 174 and a paix of end pillow blocks 175 and 1760 The portion o~ the shaft 173 between bearing 174 and pillow block 175 is proYided with a lsft Ihand thread to receive the left hand threaded sleeve 170 while the ¦portion o~ the shaft l73 which is between the bearing 174 and the pillow block 176 is provided with a right hand thread to receive .
the sleeve 171. The shaft 173 extends éxternally o~ the pillow block 176 and is provided with a sprocket 17~, around which extends a continuous chain 178 which is drlven by a sprocket (not ¦shown) on the end of a shaft 1800 Sha~t 180 receives the other two sleeves 170 and 171 and are threaded in the manner that shaft 173 is thre~ded. Thus, the shafts 173 and 180 rotate in ,synchronization a~d, upon rotation o~ the sha~t in one direction, Ithe frames 160 will be moved simultaneously out~ardly~ away from ¦leach other, and, when the shafts 173 and 180 are rotated in the .
,lopposite direction, the ~rames 160 will be moved toward each -18~
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other. A motor bl4 drives a sprocket 181 which in turn drives a continuous chain 182 which extends around and dr:Lves a sprocket 183 o~ the end of the shaf t 180 . This mo*or ~l4 :Ls also a ¦
hydraulic motor which can be selectiYely dr.iven in one di rect~on OF the other by fluld from pump 33 through appropriate hydraulic li~es ~not shown)O
The bearlng 174 ~nd the plllow blocks 175 and 17B a~e rnounted on ~ ~ront wall 185 o~ a rectangular upstanding subirame, ~,d~noted generally by the num~ral lB6. Th~ slld~ bars 166 are 10 , mounted above the pillow bloclcl3 1?5, 176 and the bearing 1i4 o~
, the wall 185, as seen in Fig. 8. The rear wall 187 which is parallel to aDd spaced from the ~ront wall 185 carried the plllow blocks, such as pillow block 188 which support the rear transverse shaft 180. The sllde bar 17~ is mounted above the pillow blocks such as pillow block 188.
, The saw shafts 151 are respectively provided with isheeves 190 which receive drive belts 191 ~rom sheeves (not ~hown~
! on the shafts o~ motors MS. The motors, in turn, are mounted on Imotor mourlting brackets 192 on the r~spective outer ~ide walls 161 20 ¦OI the fra~es 160~, Thus, the motors M5 r~de with the saws 150 as ¦~hey ~re carrled laterally inwardly and outwardly by the ~rames ~160. The subfram~ 186 is anchored to.the cros~ beams 13.
t' ii Pivotally ~ounted on the sa~ sub~rame 186 at the ~orward portion theroo~ ~ s an L-shaped belt crank 198, one arm o~ which is plvotally ~ounted by a transversel~ extending pivot pin 199 on the stationary sa~ sub~rame 186. The outer end portion oP the plvoted arm of the belt crank 198 is ~rovided with an angularlY disposed , . .
extension 204 which is pivotally connected to the distal end of a piston rod 203 of a double acti~g hydraulic cylinder 200, the cylinder 200 being pivotally connected by a pivot pin 202 carried by a bracket on the "I" beam 16. The other end o~ the belt crank 198 is provided with rollers 205 which are adapted to urge th~ log upwardly when the hydraulic cylinder 200 is actuated~ This tends .
to disengage the log L from the saws 150.
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'¦ Rearwardly o~ the rollers 205 is a continuous drag c~ai~
~¦supported by a pair o~ longitudinally aligned sprockets 207 and .
10ll208. These sproc~ets 207 and 208 are respectively carrie~ by ¦l'transverse shafts 210 and 211 which are supported by pillow blocks ~such as pillow block 212 on the sa~ subframe 186. The rear ,ltransverse shaft 211 is driven, as will be e~plained hereinaPter~ .
The chain 206 is provided with outwardly protruding teeth 213 see~
j'lin Fig. lB. These teeth 213 engage the cant a~d ~eed it ' I,rearwardly when the cant is dropped or released by the opposed ¦I,dogs 94 and 140.
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jI Aligned rearwardly o~ and respectively longitudlnally .
llwith tbe saws 150 on the frames 160 are dlvider guards 215 which 20 ~maintain in a separa$ed condition, the portions ~ the log L which '~are cut from the log L to iorm -the slabs or boards. Rear~ardly of ~the divi.der guards 215 are the guard rails 216 which function to confine therebetween the cant in its travel, rearwardly. These I,guard rails 216 are disposed on opposite sides o~ the drag c~ain i206 and extend rearwardly therefrom, being supported by hinges 217 at their forward ends, th~ hinges 217 baing pivotal about vertical 'axes and being connected to upright members (not shown). The r~ar .portions of the guard rails 216 are biased inwardly by springs on I
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lugs 218. These lugs 218, in turn, are supported by straps, such as strap 219, from the rear end portion of rail 24.
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For delivering the sl~bs and the ~oards which are cut by the saws lS0 from the opposite~sides of the log L, there is provide~ a conveyor assembly having a pair of opposed, parallel, spaced, continuous conveyors, denoted generally by the numeral 220. The function of these conveyors 220 is to ieed the boards onto the top taXe off conveyor 221 and the slabs to the bottom conveyor 222, selectively. For achieYing this, the frame 223 oi ` 10 the conveyor assembly is hingedly mounted'for pivoting about a transverse shaft 224 which is supported by pillow blocks 225 and standards, such as standard 226, extending upwardly from a cross bar 13. A continuous chain 227 from motor M6 drives the sha~t 224 ~or driving the rollers, such as roller 230, for driving the ~spaced belts 231 which.receive thc sla.bs and the boards on both sides o~ the ,rails 216. The formal portions of belts 231 pass around idler rollers, such as idler roller 232 and 233. The ,~r~me, such as frame 223, is movable arcuately by a pist~n 234 and 'piston rod 235 which e~end up from the base of the frame 10. The , 20 upper end o~ the piston rod 235 is connected to a cross bar 236 which supports both frames, such as ~rame 223~ ~or simultaneous movement in an arcuate path upwardly and downwardly. Whe~ the .plston 235 is retracted, the di~charge end o~ the conveyors 220 'are aligned with the conveyor 222 for discharging the slabs .
thereon~ When the conveyors 220 are raised, however, they discharge to the conveyor 221~ Furthermore, there is a central drag chain 240 which extends around the shaft 224 and is drive~
thereby which advances tbe cant, receiving it from the drag chain 206 with which the chain 240 is aligned along the centerline o~
30 the machine. ' .
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3~L l ., , . l As best seen in Fig. 3, outward of the saws 150, respectively~ and carried by the ~rames 160, respectively, are the¦
board discharge conveyors den~ted generally by the numerals ~50.
These discharge conveyors include a continuous belt 251 which pass~
over slide plates 252 and around rollers 253. A motor M-7 drives 'a belt 25~, seen in Fig~ lB which, i~ turn, drives a drive wheel .
¦i255 which rotates the rear opposed pair of rollers 253, riding on ! the inside periph~ry o~ one o~ the rollers 253. This advances the ¦!upper ~light of the belts 250 rear~ardly ~or delivering the slabs.
10 Ijfrom the vicinity of the saw 150 to the discharge conveyors 220. Immediately a~ter the slabs and/or boards are severed from Illthe log L, they ~all onto the conve~ors 250, and are ~ed ¦Irearwardly thereon onto the conveyors 220. The conveyors 220 are ¦~raised or lowered s~lectively, as described above for the discharge o~ the slabs or the lumber, as the case may be. The cant is dropped onto the drag chain 206 and thence is ~ed onto .
~i~drag chain 2~0 for discharge as still an additional board onto conveyor Z21 by the chain 240.
i ¦l It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many ¦!variations may be ma~e in the embodiment here chosen ~or the ~¦purpose of illustrating the preeent invention, without departing from the scope thereo~ as defined by the appended claims.
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37 on each of the slide plates 36 encompass the edge portions of the inner flanges o~ the associated bracket 35 to permit vertical, sliding of the slide plate 36 along the length o~ the upstanding ¦
' bracket 35.
I It will be understood that the upper end o~ each slide plate 36 is bi~urcated, having a pair of diverging legs which respectively carry~at their outer and upper end portions, pillow blocks 38 ~hich journal shafts 39 on the end portion~ of . these legs. The shafts ~39 support a pair o~ longitudinally extending, transversely spaced, parallel, longitudinally spine~, rollers 40 which are longer than the average length of a log L an~
are spaced apart by a distance less than the diameter of the ¦, smallest typical log L so as to cradle the log L between the ~i rollers 40 and thereby roll the log L :in one direction or the other ~hen the rollers 40 are rotated ,simultaneously in one direction or the other.
I , For drivin~ the rollers 40 a hydraulic motor M-l ~ seen ln Figs. lA, 2 and 4, suppIied with hydraulic iluid from pump 33 through controls ~no$ shown) is carried by a sidewise extendi~g bracket 41 on a longitudinally extending bar 42 mounted on a : longer, longitudinally e~tending, bar 43 fi~ed between the slide ¦ plates 36 for movement therewith. This bracket 41 also supports pair o~ pillow blocks 44 ~hich journal a power transfex sha~t 45, i the shaft 45 being driven by a sprocket 46 around which a chain 47 Il extends, the chain 47 also extending around a sprocket 48 on the i motor Ml. Sha~t 45 drives a pair of sprockets 49 which 1 respectively driv~ chains 50 for driving sprockets 51 ~onnec.ted ¦, respectively to the sha~ts 39. Thus, rollers 40 are selectively ,~ rotated in one direction or the other, in synchronization, by _g_ , 1140~33L
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¦ motor Ml. This causes rotation of log L clockwise or counter ¦ clockwise on rollers 4C).
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i The rear end portion of the bar ~2 as seen in Fig. lA
i and 4 is provided with a fixed, inverted, U-shaped, upstanding ~ strap 52, on wpich is mounted a pair of upstanding transversely ` .
¦1 opposed brackets 53, between which are supported a transverse . .
pivot pin 54, the piYot pin 54 receiving a central downwardly extending mounting bracket 55 mQunted on the lower central portio~
of a central, longitudinally extending, tilt or rocker arm 56.
The ends of the tilt ar~ 56 ar~ provided with upwardly dive~gi~g flanges 57. Pivo-tally mounted on the rear end of the bar 42 is a ¦ double acting hydraulic cylinder 58 having a piston rod 59, the end of rod 59 being pivotally connec1ted to one end portion o~ th~
tilt arm 56. By manipulation of the hydraulio fluid to cyli~der 1 58, the tilt arm 56 may be rocked, as desired, so that the upstanding flanges 57 move upwardly and downwardly between the ¦ rolls 40 for conta-ting the-bottom periphery at one end portion o~
the other of the log L so as to lift, incrementally and : ¦ selectively, one end portion or the other o~ the log L off o~ the 20 ! rollers 40~ -~ 1 , ~
: :It ~ill be understood that an infeed co~veyor C, shown in broken lines in Fig. 2/ feeds ~uccessive logs L to the rolls 4C
so that a log L is supported in a central position extending longitudinally along thP centerline of the frame lO, as shown by broken lines in Figs. lA, 2 and 4. ~einforcing struts 59 arre.st ¦¦ lateral movement of the upstanding guide member 35.
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For raising and lowering the rollers 40, the guideplates . 36, is provided with a pair of longitudinally aligned, inwardly protruding, pins 61 which ride upon the upper camming surfaces ofl a pair of side~ise e~tending lifting levers 62, mounted on t opposite ends o~ a common longitudinally extending shaft 63, all , seen in Fig. 4. The shaft 63 is journallPd by bearings 64 carrieq i by upstanding plates 65, which, in turn, are mounted upon the !~ cross beams 13 and one of the longitudinally extending beams 15. ¦
1~ A hydraulic cylinder 66 has a piston rod 67 t the end portion of .
¦ which is pivotally connected to a downwardly extending lever arm ¦ 68 which is fixed to the sha~t 63. The e~tension of the piston rod 67 will cause rotation o~ the sha~t 63 so that the levers 62 lift the pins 61` and thereby li~t the plates 3~ to raise the I rollers 40. When the piston rod 67 i6; released or returned, the .
! shaft 63 is rotated SQ as to lower the levers 62 and thereby lowe , the slide plates 36 and the rollers 40. There~ore, when a log L
received on the rollers 40, the log L may be raised or lowered by manipulation of hydraulic ~luid to the cylinder 66 throu~h a ¦I control (not sho~n) and the log L may be rotated in one direction 20 li or the other by actuation of~motor Ml. Also lever 56 will li~t I o~e end or the other of log L.
1, . ~ . .
I Above the log receiving and turning assembly is the !i log carrYing assembly, the ~unction o~ which is to support dogs 9 i and 140 for clamping the log L ior movement in a longitudinal pathl ¦l and for rotation through 90 so that the outer portions o~ the lo~
L can be progressively cut by the saw assembly. The log carl~ying¦
¦ assembly includes a main carriage assembly, denoted generally by ,, the numeral 70. This main carriage assembly includes a ~lat ¦ rectangular, horizontally disposed, carriage plate 71 provided at i, both ends with parallel,- transversely extendl~g sha~ts 69, the enc ij . .
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portions o~ which protrude beyond the side edges of the plate 710 The shafts 69 are secured, as by ~elding, to the ends of the plat~
71 and are, therefore, *irmly affixed thereto. The end portion o . the shafts 69 carry respectively the ~vur trans~ersely and longitudinally spaced circumferenctially grooved wheels 73, each of which has a periphery with a V-shaped groove 74 therein. The forwardmost pair o~ wheels 73 have a common transverse a~is an~.
the rear pair of wheels 73 have another common transverse a~is~
Il Furthermore, the shafts 72 are parallel to each other, genérally .
10 li in the horizontal-plane ~f plate 71.
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¦ A pair of wheels 73 on one side of the main carriage ¦1 assembly 70 is received in one of the tracks 24 while the other ¦I pair of wheels 73 on the other side thereof are received in the other pair of tracks 24~ As pointed out above the guides 25 are vertically aligned and the distance between the apexes o~ these vertically aligned guides 25 is slightly greater than the minimum : ¦ diameter of the grooves o~ ~he wheels There~ore, the guides 25 : ! receive the upper and lower peripherles of wheels 73 and arrest any appreciable lateral movement o~ the wheel~ 73 while permittin 20 I free rotation the~eof as the carriage assembly 70 moves along a longitudinal path de~ined by the opposed channel shaped tracks 24.
On the upper surface of the plate 71 are a pair o~
Il upstanding, longitudinally aligned, spaced, parallel, ¦ complimentary cable receiving brackets 75 which respectively li receive eye bolts 76~ The bolts 76 are e~ternally threaded and jl have he~agonal heads. Each bolt is provided with a pair o~.loc~
¦I nuts 77 which are on opposite sides o~ the plate of its bracXet 7 I!
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lL40431 through which the bolt e~tends. Thus, the position of the bolt 7 may be altered incremently, as desired~ The outer end of each bolt 76 is provided with an eyelet 78 which receives, looped therein, the end of a cable 79. One portion of cable 7g e~tends , forwardly, being wrapped around a drum 80 disposed for rotatio~ a~
I the forward poxtion of the machine, as shown in Fig. lA~. The drum 80 is carried for rotation on and with a shaft 81 journalled by .
pillow blocks 82 on an upstanding mount 83. A hydraulic motor M2 selectively rotates in one direction or the other a sha~t 84 whic~
10 ' carries a sprocket 85 for driving a continuously chain 86 looped ~around a sprocket 87 on the shaft 81. Thus the motor M2 controls the rotation of drum 80 to thereby control the take up or pay out o~ the cable 79- The other end of the cable 79 e~tends over ~ram 10 rearwardly and loops around a sheave 90 carried by a shaft 91, Il ~ournalled on pillow blocks 92 which, in turn, are mounted on a ¦~ mounting block 93 at the rear end portion of the frame 10. The . ¦I cable 79, thence, passes forwardly to be received by the eyelet 7 : i of the rear bolt 77. By supplying hyclraulic fluid from pump M10 i to the motor M2 through a control valve (not shown)g the ~ain ~0 I carriage assembly 70 will be caused to traverse the length o~ $he tracks 24 in a linear path.
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~ ounted by means of bolts (not shown) to the bottom suriace of the plate 71 is a flat rectangular base ~00 best seen ¦¦ in Figo 6, the base 90 having depending ~rom the central portion li thereof, a flat, generally triangular, dog supporting arm 91~ Th ¦' lower end portion of the dog supporting arm 91 1s provided with a bearing housing 92 within whlch are the bearings ~not shown~ whic~
, support, for rotation, a lon`gitudinally e~tending shaft 93 which ', protrudes forwardly and rearwardly f rom the ends o~ housing 92 .
30 , The rear end portion of the shaft 93 carxies a cylindrical dog 94 I .
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119L0~31 ~ ~
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which is approximately the same diameter as that o~ diameter of ~the housing 92, the dog 94 having a flat radial ~ace provided ~ith ~forwardly extending and clrcum~erentially spaced prongs or teeth .95 which engage and protrude into the central portion of one end of the log L when the log L ;s appropriately carried by the lo~
carrying assembly. An arm 96, which protrudes ~rom the shait 93 .
radially through a radial slot 97 in housing 92, limits the `
rotation of the shaft 93 to 90.
The ~orward end portion of the shaft 93.is provided with a sprocket 98 around which passes a continuous chain 9~. The other end of the chain 99 passes around a sprocket 100 carried on the end o~ a shait o~ a hydraulic motor ~3 ~hich, in turn~ is mounted on downwardly protruding bracket 101 which is mounted to ¦the bottom surface o~ the base 90, forwardly oi the arm 91~ Thus~
through manipulation of a control (not sho~n), the hydraulic ~luid ~rom pump M10 to the motor M3, will selectively rotate dog ~4 between a 0 position and a 90 rotated position ~or rotati~g log L ~rom an original supported position to a rotated position, . . .
As best seen in Fig. 6, the rear transverse sha~t 72 o~
the main carriage assembly 70 is provided with a pair of rearwardly e~tending brackets 110 having a transver~e pin which pivotally carries one end of a central, axially e~tending, double acting hydraulic cylinder 112, the piston rod 113 of which is . threadedly received by its outer end in an eye link 114, the link 114 being pivotally retained by a transverse pivot pin 115 carried by a pair o~ forwardly extending brackets 116. The brackets 116 Ilare mounted on the central portion o~ a transverse wheel sha~t 1!117, the rear periphery o~ which is ~ixed to the ~orward e~d of a I , I
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;carriage plate 118 of the rear or auxiliary carriage assembly 119 seen in Fig. 7. The ~-arriage plate 118 is a ~lat horizontally disposed, essentially square or rectangular member having a pair of upstanding, opposed, transversely aligned, suspension brackets 120 the upper end portions of which respectively carry spaced~
opposed, inwardly protruding, stub shaf ts 121 which~ in turn, respectively carry upper rollers 122. Rollers 122 are spaced ~rom each other and rotate about a common transverse axis so that the .rollers 122 are adapted to ride upon the upper sur~ace o~ the lower hori~ontal flange of the monorail 'II" beam 28. The lower sur~ace o~ this lower flange of the "I" beam 28 is proYided with a longitudinally extending angle iron ~orming a "V" guide member 123, the flanges of which converge downwardly, as shown in Figs~ 2 .
and 7~
Below the rollers 122 is a transverse bolt 125 ha~ing an .
external nut 126 thereon? the bolt 125 passing through tran~versely aligned holes in the brackets 120 so as to support ior rotation, th~rebetween, a~roller 127 which has a central ;V-shaped groove 128. The upper periphery of the V-shaped grooYe ,128 recelves the guide meDber 123 so that any apprec~able lateral ;~ovement o~ the rear or au~iliary carriage 119 is precluded.
Through manipulation of the fluid ~rom motor M10 through co~trols .
(not shown) to hydraulic cylinder 112, the au~iliary carriage 119 may be drawn toward or pushed away from the main sarriage 70 by e~tension and retraction of piston rod 113.
The shaft 117 is provided with wheels 130 which are identical to the wheels 73 and include the central V-shaped groove 131. This groove 131 is received on the guides 25 as the wheels 130 ride in the rails 24. Thus, the rear or auxiliary carriage i ' '.
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.~' assembly 119 is totally suspended by the overhead monorail 28 and by the side rails 24.
.
Mounted by bolts 135 to the bottom sur~ace oP the plate 118 is a flat rectangular or square mounting plate 136 A generally triangular dog carrying arm 137 is mounted in a 'perpendicular or vertical position by its upper end t~ the central ,portion o~ the base 136 and protrudes or depends downwardly, there~rom- The lower end of arm 137 carries a cylindrical bearing housi~g 138 ~ithin which is journalled, by bearings (not shown) a 0 !~central longitudinally e~tending shaft 139, the a~is o~ ~hich is ¦longitudinally aligned with the a~is of shaft 93. The ~ront end portion of this shaft 139 carries the disc shaped dog 140, having , a flat radial face and forwardly protruding circumferentially spaced teeth 141~ The disc 140 is freely rotatable. The dog ox Idisc 140 is.rearwardly of the wheels 130 and ~oxwardly of the ¦Iwheel 127 and the rollers 122. As such, a ma~or portion o~ its ¦,weight is suspended from the monorail 28 by rollers 22 and a minor Iportion ~rom the eide rails 24 by the wheels 130.
I
I It will be see~ that the axes o~ piston rod 113 and ,shaft 117 are in the commo~ plane o~ the plates 71 and 118 which is below the axis oi~ wheels 122. The force, therefore, o~ piston rod 113 is at about the centroid o~ rotation with respect to the axls o~ rollers 122. Also, when the auxiliary carriage 11~ is ~'moved ~orwardly for the teeth 141 o~ the rear dog 140 to engage .and project into the reaI end of the log L J the pulling actio~ of the piston rod ll3 is transversely distributed evenly between the lower peripheries o~ the wheels 130 and is also dlstributed ~o the ;rollers 122.
!
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I~ -16- ..... ... ~.
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~IL4V~3~
i When the rear dog 140 engages log L, it tends to pivot the plate 118 about the pivot pin 115 so that the outer periphery of the roller 127 along its central groove 128 engages the surfaces o~ the guide 123 for centering the auxiliary assembly 119 so that it may be more readily pulled by the piston rod 1130 .' When the roller or wheel 127 becomes worn; it can be readily replaced without the necessity of disassembling the other elements of the sawmill. The wheel 127 may be replaced by 'iremoving the nut 126, removing the bolt or pin 125 and sliding the o 'pin out. Roller 127 normally carrles no weight, whatsoever, and can be replaced guite readily. Furthermore, the rollers 122 are i~also readily replaceable and can be removed without disassembly of ¦~other parts of the structure. Therefore, when such rollers 122 ! have worn they can be readily replaced by an unskilled laborerO
The hydraulic lines 142 which supply ~luid to the motor M3 and the hydraulic lines 143 which supply hydraulic ~luid to cylinder 112 are carried by an L-shaped bracket 144 carried by the ¦main carrîage assembly 70, see~ in Fig. 2~ ~o~es 143 connect to l~lpipes 145, the ends of which are ~ixed to and carried by a pivot j,pin 146 supported by pillow bloc~s 147 on bracket 1~4, outwardl~
¦iad~acent braces 23~ In Fig. lA it is seen that the pipes pivotally connect through a pivotal connector 148 to pipes 149 'extend in cantilever fashion ~rom a pivot 141 on ~rame 10. As best seen in Figso lB, 3 and 8, rearwardly of the log receiving and turning assembly, there is a saw assemb~y having a saw ~ox ,~hich includes a pair of spaced opposed laterally movable circular 'saw blades 150 mounted on the inner ~nd portions of a palr o~
spaced, opposed, transversely aligned saw sha~ts 151. These sa~
,shafts 151 are respectively journalled by pillow blocks 152 which, in turn, are mounted on the rear portions o~ the opposed Il .
1' .
~' -17- 1.
43~L
1' .
¦,upstanding longitudinal walls 161 o~ the opposed pair of laterally movable saw positioni~g frames, denoted generally by the numeral 160. These frames 160 include these spaced, parallel upstanding longitudinaly walls 161, the ends of which are joined by the l.transverse rear end ~all 162 and the ~ront end wall 163. The ¦llower edge portions of the end walls 162 and 163 are provided ~ith ¦IL-shaped slide brackets 164 and 165 which ride on a pair o~ .
transversely extending flat rectangular spaced parallel slide bars 166 and 167, respectively. Brackets, such as brackets 168 and 169, protrude forwardly and downwardly from the iront e~ds 163 and ~rom the rear ends 162, respectively, and each bracket carries an internally threaded sleeves, such as sleeves 170 and 171. The Isleeves 170 which are connected to the brackets 168 have le~t hand ¦threads and the.sleeves 171 have a right hand thread. The ~orward . ¦sleeves 170 and 171 are received on a common forward transverse shaft 173 which is journalled by a central bear~ng 174 and a paix of end pillow blocks 175 and 1760 The portion o~ the shaft 173 between bearing 174 and pillow block 175 is proYided with a lsft Ihand thread to receive the left hand threaded sleeve 170 while the ¦portion o~ the shaft l73 which is between the bearing 174 and the pillow block 176 is provided with a right hand thread to receive .
the sleeve 171. The shaft 173 extends éxternally o~ the pillow block 176 and is provided with a sprocket 17~, around which extends a continuous chain 178 which is drlven by a sprocket (not ¦shown) on the end of a shaft 1800 Sha~t 180 receives the other two sleeves 170 and 171 and are threaded in the manner that shaft 173 is thre~ded. Thus, the shafts 173 and 180 rotate in ,synchronization a~d, upon rotation o~ the sha~t in one direction, Ithe frames 160 will be moved simultaneously out~ardly~ away from ¦leach other, and, when the shafts 173 and 180 are rotated in the .
,lopposite direction, the ~rames 160 will be moved toward each -18~
3~
other. A motor bl4 drives a sprocket 181 which in turn drives a continuous chain 182 which extends around and dr:Lves a sprocket 183 o~ the end of the shaf t 180 . This mo*or ~l4 :Ls also a ¦
hydraulic motor which can be selectiYely dr.iven in one di rect~on OF the other by fluld from pump 33 through appropriate hydraulic li~es ~not shown)O
The bearlng 174 ~nd the plllow blocks 175 and 17B a~e rnounted on ~ ~ront wall 185 o~ a rectangular upstanding subirame, ~,d~noted generally by the num~ral lB6. Th~ slld~ bars 166 are 10 , mounted above the pillow bloclcl3 1?5, 176 and the bearing 1i4 o~
, the wall 185, as seen in Fig. 8. The rear wall 187 which is parallel to aDd spaced from the ~ront wall 185 carried the plllow blocks, such as pillow block 188 which support the rear transverse shaft 180. The sllde bar 17~ is mounted above the pillow blocks such as pillow block 188.
, The saw shafts 151 are respectively provided with isheeves 190 which receive drive belts 191 ~rom sheeves (not ~hown~
! on the shafts o~ motors MS. The motors, in turn, are mounted on Imotor mourlting brackets 192 on the r~spective outer ~ide walls 161 20 ¦OI the fra~es 160~, Thus, the motors M5 r~de with the saws 150 as ¦~hey ~re carrled laterally inwardly and outwardly by the ~rames ~160. The subfram~ 186 is anchored to.the cros~ beams 13.
t' ii Pivotally ~ounted on the sa~ sub~rame 186 at the ~orward portion theroo~ ~ s an L-shaped belt crank 198, one arm o~ which is plvotally ~ounted by a transversel~ extending pivot pin 199 on the stationary sa~ sub~rame 186. The outer end portion oP the plvoted arm of the belt crank 198 is ~rovided with an angularlY disposed , . .
extension 204 which is pivotally connected to the distal end of a piston rod 203 of a double acti~g hydraulic cylinder 200, the cylinder 200 being pivotally connected by a pivot pin 202 carried by a bracket on the "I" beam 16. The other end o~ the belt crank 198 is provided with rollers 205 which are adapted to urge th~ log upwardly when the hydraulic cylinder 200 is actuated~ This tends .
to disengage the log L from the saws 150.
~!
'¦ Rearwardly o~ the rollers 205 is a continuous drag c~ai~
~¦supported by a pair o~ longitudinally aligned sprockets 207 and .
10ll208. These sproc~ets 207 and 208 are respectively carrie~ by ¦l'transverse shafts 210 and 211 which are supported by pillow blocks ~such as pillow block 212 on the sa~ subframe 186. The rear ,ltransverse shaft 211 is driven, as will be e~plained hereinaPter~ .
The chain 206 is provided with outwardly protruding teeth 213 see~
j'lin Fig. lB. These teeth 213 engage the cant a~d ~eed it ' I,rearwardly when the cant is dropped or released by the opposed ¦I,dogs 94 and 140.
I!
jI Aligned rearwardly o~ and respectively longitudlnally .
llwith tbe saws 150 on the frames 160 are dlvider guards 215 which 20 ~maintain in a separa$ed condition, the portions ~ the log L which '~are cut from the log L to iorm -the slabs or boards. Rear~ardly of ~the divi.der guards 215 are the guard rails 216 which function to confine therebetween the cant in its travel, rearwardly. These I,guard rails 216 are disposed on opposite sides o~ the drag c~ain i206 and extend rearwardly therefrom, being supported by hinges 217 at their forward ends, th~ hinges 217 baing pivotal about vertical 'axes and being connected to upright members (not shown). The r~ar .portions of the guard rails 216 are biased inwardly by springs on I
,, .
~ 20- ' i ~4~)431 .
lugs 218. These lugs 218, in turn, are supported by straps, such as strap 219, from the rear end portion of rail 24.
': I
For delivering the sl~bs and the ~oards which are cut by the saws lS0 from the opposite~sides of the log L, there is provide~ a conveyor assembly having a pair of opposed, parallel, spaced, continuous conveyors, denoted generally by the numeral 220. The function of these conveyors 220 is to ieed the boards onto the top taXe off conveyor 221 and the slabs to the bottom conveyor 222, selectively. For achieYing this, the frame 223 oi ` 10 the conveyor assembly is hingedly mounted'for pivoting about a transverse shaft 224 which is supported by pillow blocks 225 and standards, such as standard 226, extending upwardly from a cross bar 13. A continuous chain 227 from motor M6 drives the sha~t 224 ~or driving the rollers, such as roller 230, for driving the ~spaced belts 231 which.receive thc sla.bs and the boards on both sides o~ the ,rails 216. The formal portions of belts 231 pass around idler rollers, such as idler roller 232 and 233. The ,~r~me, such as frame 223, is movable arcuately by a pist~n 234 and 'piston rod 235 which e~end up from the base of the frame 10. The , 20 upper end o~ the piston rod 235 is connected to a cross bar 236 which supports both frames, such as ~rame 223~ ~or simultaneous movement in an arcuate path upwardly and downwardly. Whe~ the .plston 235 is retracted, the di~charge end o~ the conveyors 220 'are aligned with the conveyor 222 for discharging the slabs .
thereon~ When the conveyors 220 are raised, however, they discharge to the conveyor 221~ Furthermore, there is a central drag chain 240 which extends around the shaft 224 and is drive~
thereby which advances tbe cant, receiving it from the drag chain 206 with which the chain 240 is aligned along the centerline o~
30 the machine. ' .
-21- , .
3~L l ., , . l As best seen in Fig. 3, outward of the saws 150, respectively~ and carried by the ~rames 160, respectively, are the¦
board discharge conveyors den~ted generally by the numerals ~50.
These discharge conveyors include a continuous belt 251 which pass~
over slide plates 252 and around rollers 253. A motor M-7 drives 'a belt 25~, seen in Fig~ lB which, i~ turn, drives a drive wheel .
¦i255 which rotates the rear opposed pair of rollers 253, riding on ! the inside periph~ry o~ one o~ the rollers 253. This advances the ¦!upper ~light of the belts 250 rear~ardly ~or delivering the slabs.
10 Ijfrom the vicinity of the saw 150 to the discharge conveyors 220. Immediately a~ter the slabs and/or boards are severed from Illthe log L, they ~all onto the conve~ors 250, and are ~ed ¦Irearwardly thereon onto the conveyors 220. The conveyors 220 are ¦~raised or lowered s~lectively, as described above for the discharge o~ the slabs or the lumber, as the case may be. The cant is dropped onto the drag chain 206 and thence is ~ed onto .
~i~drag chain 2~0 for discharge as still an additional board onto conveyor Z21 by the chain 240.
i ¦l It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many ¦!variations may be ma~e in the embodiment here chosen ~or the ~¦purpose of illustrating the preeent invention, without departing from the scope thereo~ as defined by the appended claims.
~; - ' ' .
I, .
I .
!I. -22- ... . . j
Claims (19)
1. A sawmill of the type having a frame with a saw means for cutting slabs and boards from a log as it is reciprocated along a linear path, the log being suspended by dogs, wherein the improvement comprises:
(a) a pair of opposed parallel main rails disposed in a common horizontal plane and carried by said frame;
(b) a central monorail deposed parallel to and carried by said frame above and between said main rail;
(c) a main carriage having a main plate and wheels mounted for rotation on said plate, said wheels riding on said rails for supporting said main carriage for reciprocal movement longitudinally along said frame and for preventing appreciable pivoting or tilting of said plate;
(d) an auxiliary carriage having an auxiliary plate and I pair of wheels rotatably mounted for rotation on said plate and riding respectively on said rails for supporting an end portion of said auxiliary plate for movement longitudinally along said frame, said auxiliary carriage being rearwardly of said main carriage in said frame; said auxiliary carriage also having roller means supported by and riding on said monorail and spaced in a longitudinal direction from said pair of wheels for supporting another portion of said auxiliary plate; said wheels and said roller means preventing appreciable pivoting or tilting of said auxiliary plate;
(e) a pair of struts extending downwardly respectively from said main plate and said auxiliary plate for respectively supporting said dogs;
(f) control means connected between said main carriage and said auxiliary carriage for progressively altering the position of such carriages with respect to each other for moving said dogs into and out of clamping positions with respect to the ends of a log position between said dogs, and (g) drive means for driving one of the carriages with respect to said frame whereby said dogs move said log in a linear path past said saw means for cutting action of said saw means.
(a) a pair of opposed parallel main rails disposed in a common horizontal plane and carried by said frame;
(b) a central monorail deposed parallel to and carried by said frame above and between said main rail;
(c) a main carriage having a main plate and wheels mounted for rotation on said plate, said wheels riding on said rails for supporting said main carriage for reciprocal movement longitudinally along said frame and for preventing appreciable pivoting or tilting of said plate;
(d) an auxiliary carriage having an auxiliary plate and I pair of wheels rotatably mounted for rotation on said plate and riding respectively on said rails for supporting an end portion of said auxiliary plate for movement longitudinally along said frame, said auxiliary carriage being rearwardly of said main carriage in said frame; said auxiliary carriage also having roller means supported by and riding on said monorail and spaced in a longitudinal direction from said pair of wheels for supporting another portion of said auxiliary plate; said wheels and said roller means preventing appreciable pivoting or tilting of said auxiliary plate;
(e) a pair of struts extending downwardly respectively from said main plate and said auxiliary plate for respectively supporting said dogs;
(f) control means connected between said main carriage and said auxiliary carriage for progressively altering the position of such carriages with respect to each other for moving said dogs into and out of clamping positions with respect to the ends of a log position between said dogs, and (g) drive means for driving one of the carriages with respect to said frame whereby said dogs move said log in a linear path past said saw means for cutting action of said saw means.
2 . The sawmill defined in claim 1 wherein said monorail is an I-beam having a vertical web and a horizontally disposed lower flange and wherein said roller means rides on the upper surface of said lower flange.
3. The sawmill defined in claim 2 wherein said I-beam is disposed in a plane above the plane of said rails.
4. The sawmill defined in claim 2 wherein said roller means includes a pair of rollers disposed on opposite sides of said web, the flange of said I-beam being disposed above the plane of said main rails and means connecting said roll means to the upper surface of said auxiliary plate.
5. The sawmill defined in claim 4 wherein said roll means also includes a wheel disposed below said rollers and means on said monorail for preventing appreciable lateral movement of said auxiliary carriage.
6. The sawmill defined in claim 5 wherein said last mentioned means includes a V-shaped downwardly extending guide on the lower surface of said flange of said I-beam and wherein said wheel of said roller means has a V-shaped groove in the periphery thereof which engages said V-shaped guide along the upper periphery of said wheel of said roll means.
7. The sawmill defined in claim 1 wherein said drive means includes a drum mounted on said frame, cable means connected to said main carriage, said cable means extending around said drum, said cable means also extending rearwardly from said drum longitudinally over said frame, a pulley at the rear end of said frame and around which said cable means passes, the end portion of said cable means being connected to said main carriage.
8. The sawmill defined in claim 7 including upstanding brackets mounted on said main plate, and take-up bolts connected from said brackets to the portions of said cable means for forming the connection of said cable means to said main carriage.
9. The sawmill defined in claim 1 wherein said control means includes a cylinder connected to one of the carriages and a piston controlled by said cylinder, the end portion of said piston being connected to the other of said carriages, said piston being extendable and retractable for varying the distance between said main carriage and said auxiliary carriage.
10. The sawmill defined in claim 1 wherein said rails are opposed channel members having vertically disposed webs and horizontally disposed upper and lower flanges and wherein said rails face each other,. the lower flanges of said rails being provided with upstanding lower guides and wherein said wheels are each provided with peripheral grooves, the lower peripheral portions of said wheels engaging said bottom flanges and the lower peripheral portion of said grooves receiving said guides.
11. The sawmill defined in claim 10 including upper guides on the lower surfaces of the upper flanges of said rails, guides receiving the upper peripheral portions of said grooves of said wheels.
12. The sawmill defined in claim 1 including a hydraulic motor connected to one of said dogs for rotating the same, hydraulic lines leading to said hydraulic motor, pivotal means connected to said hydraulic lines, pipes connected to said pivotal means, whereby said pivotal means pivot with respect to each other as said main carriage is moved along the length of said rails.
13. The sawmill defined in claim 1 including a log receiving and rotating assembly disposed in the front portion of said frame for supporting a log for being grasped between said dogs.
14. The sawmill defined in claim 13 wherein said assembly includes a pair of longitudinally extending rollers for receiving and supporting a log thereon within said frame, the axes of said longitudinally extending rollers being disposed in essentially horizontal, longitudinal, parallel, spaced relationship, means for simultaneously rotating said rollers, means for raising and lowering said rollers about their axes for rotating said leg thereon, and means between said rollers for lifting selectively one end or the other of said log or the other for centering the ends of said log for being clamped between said dogs.
15. The sawmill defined in claim 14 wherein said means for selectively lifting an end of said log includes a lever, transverse pivot means for pivotally mounting the central portion of said lever to said means for raising and lowering said rollers, a hydraulic cylinder for selectively tilting said lever in one direction or the other about said pivot means; whereby the end portions of said lever may be selectively extended between said rollers for engaging the lower surface of the end portion of the log disposed thereabove.
16. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein said saw means includes a pair of saws disposed with their axes in transverse alignment along the path of travel of said log, motor means for individually driving said saws and conveyor means disposed laterally outwardly of said saws for conveying the slabs and boards which are cut from said log by said saws, rearwardly of said frame.
17. The sawmill defined in claim 16 including means for tilting said conveyor means for selectively discharging said slabs and boards from said conveyor means at one height or another.
18. The sawmill defined in claim 1 including a cant conveyor for receiving the cant of said log after the boards have been cut therefrom and for conveying the cant rearwardly of said frame.
19. The sawmill defined in claim 18 including guides hingedly secured on opposite sides of the cant conveyor means for guiding said cant rearwardly of said machine.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000376387A CA1140431A (en) | 1981-04-28 | 1981-04-28 | Sawmill work feeding and product handling apparatus |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000376387A CA1140431A (en) | 1981-04-28 | 1981-04-28 | Sawmill work feeding and product handling apparatus |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1140431A true CA1140431A (en) | 1983-02-01 |
Family
ID=4119840
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000376387A Expired CA1140431A (en) | 1981-04-28 | 1981-04-28 | Sawmill work feeding and product handling apparatus |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1140431A (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN118061308A (en) * | 2024-04-25 | 2024-05-24 | 济南快雕数控设备有限公司 | Feeding robot for engraving machine |
-
1981
- 1981-04-28 CA CA000376387A patent/CA1140431A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN118061308A (en) * | 2024-04-25 | 2024-05-24 | 济南快雕数控设备有限公司 | Feeding robot for engraving machine |
| CN118061308B (en) * | 2024-04-25 | 2024-07-30 | 济南快雕数控设备有限公司 | Feeding robot for engraving machine |
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