EP0101863B1 - Veneer slicer - Google Patents
Veneer slicer Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0101863B1 EP0101863B1 EP19830106896 EP83106896A EP0101863B1 EP 0101863 B1 EP0101863 B1 EP 0101863B1 EP 19830106896 EP19830106896 EP 19830106896 EP 83106896 A EP83106896 A EP 83106896A EP 0101863 B1 EP0101863 B1 EP 0101863B1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- flitch
- mounting surface
- dog
- dogs
- section
- 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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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B27—WORKING OR PRESERVING WOOD OR SIMILAR MATERIAL; NAILING OR STAPLING MACHINES IN GENERAL
- B27L—REMOVING BARK OR VESTIGES OF BRANCHES; SPLITTING WOOD; MANUFACTURE OF VENEER, WOODEN STICKS, WOOD SHAVINGS, WOOD FIBRES OR WOOD POWDER
- B27L5/00—Manufacture of veneer ; Preparatory processing therefor
- B27L5/06—Cutting strips from a stationarily- held trunk or piece by a rocking knife carrier, or from rocking trunk or piece by a stationarily-held knife carrier; Veneer- cutting machines
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B27—WORKING OR PRESERVING WOOD OR SIMILAR MATERIAL; NAILING OR STAPLING MACHINES IN GENERAL
- B27B—SAWS FOR WOOD OR SIMILAR MATERIAL; COMPONENTS OR ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
- B27B29/00—Gripping, clamping, or holding devices for the trunk or log in saw mills or sawing machines; Travelling trunk or log carriages
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a veneer slicer having a reciprocating flitch table providing a mounting surface for a flitch, top and bottom dogs for gripping the flitch and holding the flitch against a central portion of the mounting surface, power means for moving the top and bottom dogs toward the central portion to their gripping positions and away from the central portion to their releasing positions, and a knife and pressure bar assembly movable along a path normal to the . mounting surface, the flitch table being reciproc- able transverse to the path of the knife and pressure bar assembly.
- Top and bottom dog assemblies for veneer slicers are generally well known (US-A-3680612).
- the top and bottom dogs grip a conventional flitch and restrain the flitch against a vertical mounting surface on a flitch table.
- a conventional flitch is a portion of a log that has been split longitudinally to provide a flat mounting surface.
- a knife and pressure bar assembly is mounted on the veneer slicer facing the mounting surface so that as the flitch table moves downwardly, the fixed knife edge slices a thin sheet of veneer from the flitch.
- extension dog asemblies are known. The extension dog assemblies enable the veneer slicer to accommodate a generally cylindrical flitch which has not been split longitudinally.
- Extension dogs customarily grip the flitch at a distance from the mounting surface nearly equal to the radius of the cylindrical flitch, while the top and bottom dogs grip the flitch at a relatively short distance from the mounting surface.
- a clamping device In connection with a reciprocating saw (AT-B-187296) a clamping device was known which was provided with a third set of dogs intermediate top and bottom dogs for clamping two superposed logs.
- a veneer slicer 10 embodying the present invention includes a base 12, flitch table supports 14 (only one of which is shown in the drawings), and a flitch table 16.
- the plurality of transversely spaced-apart supports 14 provide guides such as indicated at 18 upon which the flitch table 16 reciprocates in a generally vertical plane, as indicated by the arrow 20 in Fig. 2.
- the means by which the flitch table 16 is supported for reciprocation is well known.
- a conventional flitch 26 is a portion of a generally cylindrical log that has been split longitudinally to provide a flat rear-mounting surface.
- many logs have a multiplicity of medullary rays extending radially outwardly from the center of the log. The number and pattern of the medullary rays vary, depending upon the type of tree.
- a plurality of transversely spaced-apart dogs 22 and 24 are mounted on the flitch table 16 for gripping the flitch 26 at relatively short distances from the mounting surface 17 and holding the flitch 26 rigidly against a central portion of the mounting surface 17.
- bottom dogs 22 and top dogs 24 vertically reciprocate on the flitch table 16 and are driven by hydraulic cylinders 30 and 34, respectively.
- Other power means may be employed for moving the dogs 22 and 24.
- the flitch 26 is held against the central portion of the mounting surface 17 so that it extends longitudinally therealong.
- the bottom dogs 22 are driven upwardly and the top dogs 24 are driven downwardly to engage the flitch 26 and hold the flitch rigidly against the mounting surface 17.
- the hydraulic cylinders 30 and 34 and their respective piston rods 32 and 36 drive the teeth portions 38 of the dogs 22 and 24 into the flitch 26.
- the teeth portions 38 are designed to wedge the rear surface of the flitch 26 tightly against the mounting surface 17 of the flitch table 16.
- the slicer 10 includes a carriage 50 mounted on the base 12. Carriage 50 moves towards and away from the vertical plane of the flitch table 16 as indicated by the arrow 52. Means for moving the carriage 50 in the direction of the arrow 52 is well known and conventional.
- a knife and pressure bar assembly is mounted on the carriage 50 so that the assembly is movable with the carriage 50 toward and away from the mounting surface 17 of the flitch table 16.
- a member 56 (commonly called a knife bar) is provided for supporting the knife 58 at a point just below the pressure bar 60.
- the pressure bar 60 is carried by an assembly 62 (commonly called a pressure cap) which is adjustably movable on the knife bar 56. This arrangement of a knife 58, pressure bar 60, knife bar 56, and pressure cap 62 are well known.
- the flitch table 16 reciprocates transversely in a generally vertical plane relative to the path of movement of the knife and pressure bar assembly 54.
- the table 16 moves in the vertical plane between first and second opposite positions, i.e., upper and lower positions.
- the knife and pressure bar assembly 54 slices a thin sheet of veneer from the flitch 26.
- the assembly 54 is advanced step-by-step toward the flitch table 16, the distance of each step being approximately equal to the thickness of the slice of veneer being cut and each step being completed before the table 16 begins to move downwardly.
- Means, now shown, are provided for tilting the assembly 54 rearwardly after each slice to permit the table 16 and the flitch 26 to move to its upper position from its lower position.
- the flitch table 16 In addition to the bottom and top dog assemblies 22 and 24, the flitch table 16 often includes a plurality of extension dog assemblies (one such assembly being indicated generally by the reference numeral 64 in Fig. 2) mounted on the flitch table 16.
- the extension dogs are designed to grip a generally cylindrical flitch (not shown), i.e., a log which has not been cut longitudinally, at a distance from the mounting surface 17 of the flitch table 16 greater than the gripping distance of the bottom and top dogs 22 and 24.
- the extension dog assemblies 64 when not in use, the extension dog assemblies 64 are positioned so that they will not cross the path of the knife and pressure bar assembly 54.
- Each extension dog assembly 64 includes a bottom extension dog 66, top extension dog 68, and a hydraulic cylinder-piston rod assembly 69 for moving the extension dogs 66 and 68.
- the hydraulic assembly 69 operates to drive the bottom extension dog 66 and the top extension dog 68 inwardly toward each other to engage the generally cylindrical flitch and hold it against the mounting surface 17 of the flitch table 16.
- the convention flitch 26 is usually gripped by several pairs of top and bottom dogs 22 and 24 so that the flitch 26 is securely held against the mounting surface 17 of the flitch table 16 as shown in Fig. 1.
- the flitch 26 could be gripped initially by several extension dog assemblies 64 in addition to the bottom and top dogs 22, 24 until movement of the knife and pressure bar assembly 54 to the right (Fig. 1) places it in close proximity to the vertical plane of movement of the flitch table 16.
- the extension dogs 66 and 68 would be removed to their respective releasing positions (Fig. 1) and the flitch 26 would remain secured, held only by the bottom and top dogs 22, 24.
- the position of the knife and pressure bar assembly relative to the reciprocating mounting surface 17 defines a vertical cutting plane 42, represented by the phantom line in Fig. 1.
- the knife and pressure bar assembly 54 slices a thin sheet of veneer from the flitch 26 in the cutting plane 42.
- the cutting plane 42 intersects planes 44 and 46 of the medullary rays 48.
- the surface texture of a sliced veneer sheet is primarily a function of the slope of the planes 44 and 46 of the medullary rays 48 relative to the cutting plane 42.
- the normal line 43 has no slope.
- the slope of the planes 44 and 46 will vary in each slicing pass.
- Each sliced veneer sheet is endowed with a substantially smooth and commercially acceptable surface as long as the slope of a medullary ray 48 plane is negative.
- Such a negatively sloping plane 46 is represented by a phantom line in Fig. 1.
- a medullary ray 58 plane has a positive slope (e.g., positively sloping plane 44)
- the knife edge 58 begins to gouge into the flitch 26, yielding a rough and commercially undesirable veneer surface texture.
- a flitch 26 split longitudinally in half would yield two supplementary longitudinal flitch sections 78 and 79.
- the flitch section 78 is longitudinally rotated and mounted on a traditional reciprocating flitch table 16 so that the knife edge 58 first encounters flat surface 81 of the flitch section 78 generally perpendicular to the mounting surface 17, produced by the longitudinal splitting operation, and exits at an arcuate surface 77. It is noteworthy that with the revised mounting position of the flitch section 78, the planes 44 of the medullary rays 48 of the section 78 have a negative slope.
- the flitch section 79 is mounted on the flitch table 16 in a fashion identical to that of the flitch section 78.
- the revised mounting position for the flitch section 78 will produce veneer sheets yielding a smooth surface texture since the orientation of the flitch section 78 no longer mirrors the orientation of the flitch section 79, but emulates it.
- the revised mounting position changes the slope of the planes 44 of the medullary rays 48 of he flitch section 78 prior to slicing from positive to negative and thus eliminates gouging by the knife edge 58.
- each flitch section 78 and 79 proves to be a time-consuming and labor-intensive chore.
- the flitch 26 must be longitudinally split, the flitch section 78 mounted and sliced, the unsliced portion of the flitch section 78 that had been gripped by the conventional dogs 22, 24 must be discarded, the flitch section 79 must be mounted, and the process repeated.
- the primary disadvantage is inefficient use of the veneer slicer 10 since twice as many passes of the reciprocating flitch table 16 are now required in order to slice the same amount of veneer sheets as was heretofore possible using the traditional set-up.
- the desired surface texture could be obtained at a substantially reduced cost by slicing both flitch sections 78, 79 in one pass of the reciprocating flitch table 16.
- the flitch table 16 Prior to the present invention, the flitch table 16 had no means for gripping more than one flitch or flitch section at a time.
- a flitch table constructed according to the present invention permits two flitch sections 78 and 79 to be concurrently gripped and constrained against the mounting surface 17 so that they may be sliced simultaneously.
- one or more intermediate dog assemblies 70 are mounted on the flitch table 16 and are designed to grip the adjacent inwardly facing surfaces of each of two parallel flitch sections 78, 79 while the opposing outwardly facing surfaces of the two flitch sections 78, 79 are being gripped by the bottom and top dogs 22, 24.
- the inwardly facing surfaces will include the arcuate surface 77 of the flitch section 78 and the flat surface 81 of the flitch section 79.
- the intermediate dog assemblies 70 are projectable beyond the plane of the mounting surface 17 and retractable within the flitch table 16. This unique apparatus permits a single flitch table 16 to constrain either one conventional flitch 26 or two flitch sections 78, 79 against the mounting surface 17 during the slicing operation.
- the intermediate dog asemblies 70 are designed to be incorporated on flitch tables 16 of veneer slicers 10 of the type described above.
- the number of intermediate dog assemblies 70 utilized on a slicer 10 will depend on the length of the slicer, i.e. the length of flitches which can be cut in the slicer.
- the intermediate dog assemblies 70 are laterally narrow assemblies which can be inserted into laterally narrow spaces on the flitch table 16, each assembly including a frame portion which is connected to the flitch table.
- Each intermediate dog assembly 70 includes an intermediate dog 72, mounting means 74, and projecting means 76 for projecting the intermediate dog 72 beyond the plane of the mounting surface 17.
- the relationship of the intermediate dog assembly 70 to the flitch table 16 is best shown in Fig. 3.
- the intermediate dog 72 is positioned intermediate the bottom dog 22 and top dog 24 so that the three dogs 22, 72 and 24 cooperate to grip the parallel flitch sections 78,79 concurrently.
- the projecting means 76 includes a fluidic cylinder drive which will be explained hereinafter.
- the mounting means 74 includes a support bar 80 transversally mounted on the flitch table 16 so that it is recessed behind the plane of the mounting surface 17.
- the support bar 80 includes a plurality of longitudinal slots 82 symmetrically disposed about a transverse line passing through the center of the support bar 80.
- the support bar 80 as attached to the flitch table 16 by a plurality of fastening elements 83 and bearing plates 84.
- a cavity 86 is provided in the central portion of the support bar 80. As shown in Fig. 3, the cavity 86 opens outwardly toward the plane of the mounting surface 17.
- the intermediate dog 72 is carried within a frame 88.
- the frame 88 is formed by the support bar cavity 86 and a pair of L-shaped gibs 90 which partially enframe the outwardly opening support bar cavity 86.
- the gibs 90 are mounted to the support bar 80 on opposing sides of the cavity 86 so that they are symmetrically disposed about the opening of the cavity 86.
- the gibs 90 are mounted on the support bar 80 so that the inwardly facing surface 91 of each gib 90 is flush with the cavity wall 92, and the lip portion 93 of each gib 90 extends inwardly beyond the plane of the cavity wall 92, as shown in Fig. 5.
- Each gib 90 is mounted to the support bar 80 by a plurality of fastening elements 94 threadedly engaging the support bar 80 as indicated at 95.
- the inwardly facing surface 91 of the gibs 90 cooperate with the coplanar cavity walls 92 to form a channel 96 normal to the plane of the mounting surface 17.
- the intermediate dog 72 includes a T-shaped dogging block 98 and a pair of dogging plates 100 positioned and designed to engage the adjacent inwardly facing surfaces 81 and 77 of the two flitch sections 78, 79, respectively.
- the dogging block 98 is carried within the fixed frame 88 so that rectilinear movement within the channel 96 is possible. Movement of the dogging block 98 in channel 96 is limited by the inwardly protruding lips 93 of the gibs 90 and the bottom wall 102 of the support bar cavity 86.
- the intermediate dog assembly 70 is mounted on the flitch table 16 and the depth of channel 96 selected so that the intermediate dog 72 is projectable beyond the plane of the mounting surface 17 and retractable within the flitch table 16 in response to movement of the dogging block 98.
- Each dogging plate 100 is orthogonally mounted to a portion of the dogging block 98 which is both extendable beyond the plane of the mounting surface 17 and retractable within the flitch table 16.
- Each dogging plate 100 includes a mounting portion 104 and a jaw portion 106.
- the mounting portions 104 are secured to the dogging block 98 by a plurality of fastening elements (not shown) so that the jaw portions 106 extend in opposing directions.
- the dogging block 98 includes several features which facilitate its movement within the channel 96.
- the dogging block 98 includes a cylinder bore 108 opening inwardly with respect to the plane of the mounting surface 17.
- the cylinder bore 108 is designed so that it may receive a floating piston 110 having a plurality of peripherally extending sealing rings 112.
- the engagement of the piston 110 and the cylinder bore 108 forms a chamber 114 into which a pressurized fluid (not shown) may be injected through an orifice 116 in the piston 110.
- the introduction of the pressurized fluid will fill the spacer within the chamber 114, causing the dogging block 98 to move outwardly with respect to the plane of the mounting surface 17 to its projected position, as represented by the solid lines in Fig. 5.
- the pressurized fluid may be stored in a convenient location 118 near the veneer slicer 10 and may be controlled by a suitable fluidic control system 120 as generally indicated by the schematic diagram in Fig. 3.
- the purpose of the cylinder drive is to project the intermediate dog 72 beyond the plane of the mounting surface 17 to its projected position.
- the reciprocating means 107 also includes biasing means 122 for biasing the intermediate dog 72 toward its retracted position within the flitch table 16, as represented by the broken lines in Fig. 5.
- the dogging block 98 includes a plurality of fixture bores 124 symmetrically disposed about the longitudinal axis of the cylinder bore 108.
- the fixture bores 124 open outwardly with respect to the mounting surface 17.
- the openings of the fixture bores 124 are capped by the mounting portions 104 of the dogging plates 100.
- the dogging block 98 includes a plurality of cylindrical holes 126 in its bottom surface 125 equal in number to the number of fixture bores 124.
- the cylindrical holes 126 are concentrically aligned with the fixture bores 124 and open toward the bottom wall 102 of the support bar cavity 86.
- the diameter of the cylindrical hole 126 is smaller than the diameter of the fixture bore 124 so that the threaded portion of a bolt 128 may extend through the cylindrical hole 126 and the head of the unthreaded portion may be seated in the fixture bore 124.
- the biasing means 122 includes compression springs 130 interposed between the heads of the bolts 128 and the bottoms of the fixture bores 124.
- the bolts 128 extend through the cylindrical hole 126 and threadedly engage the support bar 80.
- the springs 130 are designed so that the intermediate dog 72 is seated on the bottom wall 102 of the support bar cavity 86 when the springs 130 are fully extended. Thus, springs 130 bias the intermediate dog toward its retracted position within the flitch table 16.
- the preferred reciprocating means-107 employs a fluidic piston-cylinder drive to project the intermediate dog 72 beyond the plane of the mounting surface 17 (as depicted in Fig. 5).
- the intermediate dog 72 is biased against the bottom wall 102 of the support bar cavity 26 so that the dogging plates 100 are retracted within the flitch table 16.
- Each flitch section 78 and 79 is independently mounted on the mounting surface 17 using the preferred mounting procedure.
- Operation of the fluidic control system 120 activates movement of the intermediate dogs 72, bottom dogs 22, and top dogs 24.
- the intermediate dogs 72 are moved to their projected positions by operating control means 140.
- Some of the bottom dogs 22 are moved to their gripping positions by operating control means 142.
- Some of the top dogs 24 are moved to their gripping positions by operating control means 144.
- the remaining bottom dogs 22 and top dogs 24 are simultaneously moved to their respective gripping positions by activating control means 146.
- the first step in the preferred mounting procedure is to move the dogging plates 100 beyond the plane of the mounting surface 17 to their projected positions by operating the control means 140.
- the second step is to mount the flitch section 78 in its rotated orientation on a lower portion of the mounting surface 17.
- the flat mounting surface of flitch section 78 is placed against the mounting surface 17 so that the dogging plates 100 engage the longitudinal arcuate surface 77 of the flitch section 78.
- Some of the bottom dogs 22 are then activated by the control means 142 so that they grip the longitudinal flat surface 81 and constrain flitch section 78 against the mounting surface 17.
- the third step is to mount the flitch section 79 on an upper portion of the mounting surface 17.
- the flat mounting surface of flitch section 79 is placed against the mounting surface 17 so that the dogging plates 100 engage the longitudinal flat surface 81 of the flitch section 79.
- top dogs 24 are then activated by the control means 144 so that they grip the longitudinal arcuate surface 77 and constrain flitch section 79 against the mounting surface 17. Finally, the remaining bottom dogs 22 and top dogs 24 are simultaneously activated by control means 146 so that the bottom dogs 22 grip the longitudinal flat surface 81 of flitch section 78 and the top dogs 24 grip the longitudinal arcuate surface 77 of flitch section 79.
- Sequentially mounting and gripping the flitch sections 78 and 79 prior to slicing both sections is the preferred manner of operation in the present invention. However, this preferred procedure does not preempt the use of alternative operating procedures.
- the flitch section 79 could be mounted before the flitch section 78 is mounted or both flitch sections 78 and 79 could be mounted and gripped simultaneously.
- the reciprocating means could be proportioned and designed so that the intermediate dog is normally spring-biased beyond the plane of the mounting surface. This configuration would remove the need for a fluidic piston-cylinder drive.
- the flitch table 16 would be set up to accommodate two flitch sections. However if the veneer cutter elected to slice a conventional flitch 26, the springs would allow the intermediate dog 72 to retract within the flitch table under the weight of the flitch 26.
- the new intermediate dogs add a significant measure of flexibility to a standard flitch table.
- Surface texture quality of sliced veneer sheets can be markedly improved with minimal effort following the incorporation of this unique invention into a conventional veneer slicer.
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Description
- The present invention relates to a veneer slicer having a reciprocating flitch table providing a mounting surface for a flitch, top and bottom dogs for gripping the flitch and holding the flitch against a central portion of the mounting surface, power means for moving the top and bottom dogs toward the central portion to their gripping positions and away from the central portion to their releasing positions, and a knife and pressure bar assembly movable along a path normal to the . mounting surface, the flitch table being reciproc- able transverse to the path of the knife and pressure bar assembly.
- Top and bottom dog assemblies for veneer slicers are generally well known (US-A-3680612). Typically, the top and bottom dogs grip a conventional flitch and restrain the flitch against a vertical mounting surface on a flitch table. A conventional flitch is a portion of a log that has been split longitudinally to provide a flat mounting surface. A knife and pressure bar assembly is mounted on the veneer slicer facing the mounting surface so that as the flitch table moves downwardly, the fixed knife edge slices a thin sheet of veneer from the flitch. In addition, extension dog asemblies are known. The extension dog assemblies enable the veneer slicer to accommodate a generally cylindrical flitch which has not been split longitudinally. The cylindrical flitches cannot be gripped by top and bottom dogs alone. Extension dogs customarily grip the flitch at a distance from the mounting surface nearly equal to the radius of the cylindrical flitch, while the top and bottom dogs grip the flitch at a relatively short distance from the mounting surface.
- Unfortunately, a portion of many of the sheets of veneer sliced on a conventional veneer slicer from a conventional flitch has a rough surface texture. This imperfection occurs when the knife edge adversely encounters the medullary rays of the flitch at the start of a slicing pass. Past the midway point of the slicing pass, the knife edge no longer adversely encounters the medullary rays and thus the surface texture is smooth. This roughness can be minimised by longitudinally splitting the conventional flitch, and independently mounting each resulting flitch section so that the medullary rays of each flitch section are aligned in a favorable manner with respect to the knife edge. Using this procedure, a substantially smooth veneer sheet can be produced from each flitch section. However, such an operation is time-consuming since the conventional flitch table is unable to accommodate more than one flitch or flitch section at a time. Requiring each flitch section to be sliced independently increases the slicing cycle time by a factor of two and the resulting waste of labor and resources is commercially unacceptable.
- In connection with a reciprocating saw (AT-B-187296) a clamping device was known which was provided with a third set of dogs intermediate top and bottom dogs for clamping two superposed logs.
- It is object of the present invention to improve a veneer slicer so that it can be used either for slicing one flitch in a conventional manner or for slicing two flitch sections in one cycle.
- This object is accomplished by using the features specified in claim 1. A method of mounting a flitch to such a veneer slicer is specified in claim 6.
- The present invention will become more apparent in the view of the following detailed description of one embodiment thereof, exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived, which description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
- Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a veneer slicer having top and bottom dogs gripping a conventional flitch;
- Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the flitch table of the slicer of Fig. 1, including intermediate dogs embodying the present invention;
- Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view, partly broken away and cross-sectioned, of the flitch table shown in Fig. 2 showing the jaws of the intermediate dog cooperating with the jaws of the top and bottom dogs to grip and hold two flitch sections against the mounting surface of the flitch table;
- Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of an intermediate dog embodying the present invention;
- Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the intermediate dog of the present invention taken generally along line 5-5 of Fig. 4 showing the preferred means for moving the intermediate dog.
- Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, a veneer slicer 10 embodying the present invention includes a
base 12, flitch table supports 14 (only one of which is shown in the drawings), and a flitch table 16. The plurality of transversely spaced-apart supports 14 provide guides such as indicated at 18 upon which the flitch table 16 reciprocates in a generally vertical plane, as indicated by thearrow 20 in Fig. 2. The means by which the flitch table 16 is supported for reciprocation is well known. - A
conventional flitch 26 is a portion of a generally cylindrical log that has been split longitudinally to provide a flat rear-mounting surface. As a result of a tree's growth pattern, many logs have a multiplicity of medullary rays extending radially outwardly from the center of the log. The number and pattern of the medullary rays vary, depending upon the type of tree. - A plurality of transversely spaced-
apart dogs flitch 26 at relatively short distances from themounting surface 17 and holding theflitch 26 rigidly against a central portion of themounting surface 17. In the illustrative embodiment,bottom dogs 22 andtop dogs 24 vertically reciprocate on the flitch table 16 and are driven byhydraulic cylinders dogs flitch 26 is held against the central portion of themounting surface 17 so that it extends longitudinally therealong. Thebottom dogs 22 are driven upwardly and thetop dogs 24 are driven downwardly to engage theflitch 26 and hold the flitch rigidly against themounting surface 17. Thehydraulic cylinders respective piston rods teeth portions 38 of thedogs flitch 26. Theteeth portions 38 are designed to wedge the rear surface of theflitch 26 tightly against themounting surface 17 of the flitch table 16. - The slicer 10 includes a
carriage 50 mounted on thebase 12.Carriage 50 moves towards and away from the vertical plane of the flitch table 16 as indicated by thearrow 52. Means for moving thecarriage 50 in the direction of thearrow 52 is well known and conventional. A knife and pressure bar assembly, indicated generally by thereference numeral 54, is mounted on thecarriage 50 so that the assembly is movable with thecarriage 50 toward and away from themounting surface 17 of the flitch table 16. In the illustrated slicer 10, a member 56 (commonly called a knife bar) is provided for supporting theknife 58 at a point just below the pressure bar 60. The pressure bar 60 is carried by an assembly 62 (commonly called a pressure cap) which is adjustably movable on theknife bar 56. This arrangement of aknife 58, pressure bar 60,knife bar 56, andpressure cap 62 are well known. - From the description thus far, it will be appreciated that the flitch table 16 reciprocates transversely in a generally vertical plane relative to the path of movement of the knife and
pressure bar assembly 54. The table 16 moves in the vertical plane between first and second opposite positions, i.e., upper and lower positions. As the flitch table 16 moves downwardly, the knife andpressure bar assembly 54 slices a thin sheet of veneer from theflitch 26. Theassembly 54 is advanced step-by-step toward the flitch table 16, the distance of each step being approximately equal to the thickness of the slice of veneer being cut and each step being completed before the table 16 begins to move downwardly. Means, now shown, are provided for tilting theassembly 54 rearwardly after each slice to permit the table 16 and theflitch 26 to move to its upper position from its lower position. - In addition to the bottom and
top dog assemblies reference numeral 64 in Fig. 2) mounted on the flitch table 16. The extension dogs are designed to grip a generally cylindrical flitch (not shown), i.e., a log which has not been cut longitudinally, at a distance from themounting surface 17 of the flitch table 16 greater than the gripping distance of the bottom andtop dogs extension dog assemblies 64 are positioned so that they will not cross the path of the knife andpressure bar assembly 54. Eachextension dog assembly 64 includes abottom extension dog 66,top extension dog 68, and a hydraulic cylinder-piston rod assembly 69 for moving theextension dogs hydraulic assembly 69 operates to drive thebottom extension dog 66 and thetop extension dog 68 inwardly toward each other to engage the generally cylindrical flitch and hold it against themounting surface 17 of the flitch table 16. - The
convention flitch 26 is usually gripped by several pairs of top andbottom dogs flitch 26 is securely held against themounting surface 17 of the flitch table 16 as shown in Fig. 1. Alternatively, theflitch 26 could be gripped initially by several extension dog assemblies 64 in addition to the bottom andtop dogs pressure bar assembly 54 to the right (Fig. 1) places it in close proximity to the vertical plane of movement of the flitch table 16. When no longer required, theextension dogs flitch 26 would remain secured, held only by the bottom andtop dogs - The position of the knife and pressure bar assembly relative to the reciprocating
mounting surface 17 defines avertical cutting plane 42, represented by the phantom line in Fig. 1. As the flitch table 16 is moved downwardly, the knife andpressure bar assembly 54 slices a thin sheet of veneer from theflitch 26 in thecutting plane 42. During a cutting pass, thecutting plane 42 intersectsplanes medullary rays 48. The surface texture of a sliced veneer sheet is primarily a function of the slope of theplanes medullary rays 48 relative to thecutting plane 42. In a two-dimensional coordinate system where thevertical cutting plane 42 is the abscissa and aline 43 normal to thevertical cutting plane 42 is the ordinate, thenormal line 43 has no slope. The slope of theplanes medullary ray 48 plane is negative. Such a negatively slopingplane 46 is represented by a phantom line in Fig. 1. However, when amedullary ray 58 plane has a positive slope (e.g., positively sloping plane 44), theknife edge 58 begins to gouge into theflitch 26, yielding a rough and commercially undesirable veneer surface texture. - As shown in Fig. 3, a
flitch 26 split longitudinally in half would yield two supplementarylongitudinal flitch sections flitch 26, theflitch section 78 is longitudinally rotated and mounted on a traditional reciprocating flitch table 16 so that theknife edge 58 first encountersflat surface 81 of theflitch section 78 generally perpendicular to the mountingsurface 17, produced by the longitudinal splitting operation, and exits at anarcuate surface 77. It is noteworthy that with the revised mounting position of theflitch section 78, theplanes 44 of the medullary rays 48 of thesection 78 have a negative slope. Theflitch section 79 is mounted on the flitch table 16 in a fashion identical to that of theflitch section 78. The revised mounting position for theflitch section 78 will produce veneer sheets yielding a smooth surface texture since the orientation of theflitch section 78 no longer mirrors the orientation of theflitch section 79, but emulates it. The revised mounting position changes the slope of theplanes 44 of the medullary rays 48 of he flitchsection 78 prior to slicing from positive to negative and thus eliminates gouging by theknife edge 58. - Individually slicing each
flitch section flitch 26 must be longitudinally split, theflitch section 78 mounted and sliced, the unsliced portion of theflitch section 78 that had been gripped by theconventional dogs flitch section 79 must be mounted, and the process repeated. The primary disadvantage is inefficient use of the veneer slicer 10 since twice as many passes of the reciprocating flitch table 16 are now required in order to slice the same amount of veneer sheets as was heretofore possible using the traditional set-up. The desired surface texture could be obtained at a substantially reduced cost by slicing bothflitch sections flitch sections surface 17 so that they may be sliced simultaneously. - In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, one or more
intermediate dog assemblies 70 are mounted on the flitch table 16 and are designed to grip the adjacent inwardly facing surfaces of each of twoparallel flitch sections flitch sections top dogs arcuate surface 77 of theflitch section 78 and theflat surface 81 of theflitch section 79. - The
intermediate dog assemblies 70 are projectable beyond the plane of the mountingsurface 17 and retractable within the flitch table 16. This unique apparatus permits a single flitch table 16 to constrain either oneconventional flitch 26 or twoflitch sections surface 17 during the slicing operation. - The intermediate dog asemblies 70 are designed to be incorporated on flitch tables 16 of veneer slicers 10 of the type described above. The number of
intermediate dog assemblies 70 utilized on a slicer 10 will depend on the length of the slicer, i.e. the length of flitches which can be cut in the slicer. Further, theintermediate dog assemblies 70 are laterally narrow assemblies which can be inserted into laterally narrow spaces on the flitch table 16, each assembly including a frame portion which is connected to the flitch table. - Each
intermediate dog assembly 70 includes anintermediate dog 72, mounting means 74, and projectingmeans 76 for projecting theintermediate dog 72 beyond the plane of the mountingsurface 17. The relationship of theintermediate dog assembly 70 to the flitch table 16 is best shown in Fig. 3. Theintermediate dog 72 is positioned intermediate thebottom dog 22 andtop dog 24 so that the threedogs parallel flitch sections means 76 includes a fluidic cylinder drive which will be explained hereinafter. - As seen in Fig. 3, the mounting means 74 includes a
support bar 80 transversally mounted on the flitch table 16 so that it is recessed behind the plane of the mountingsurface 17. Thesupport bar 80 includes a plurality oflongitudinal slots 82 symmetrically disposed about a transverse line passing through the center of thesupport bar 80. Thesupport bar 80 as attached to the flitch table 16 by a plurality offastening elements 83 andbearing plates 84. Acavity 86 is provided in the central portion of thesupport bar 80. As shown in Fig. 3, thecavity 86 opens outwardly toward the plane of the mountingsurface 17. - Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, the
intermediate dog 72 is carried within aframe 88. Theframe 88 is formed by thesupport bar cavity 86 and a pair of L-shapedgibs 90 which partially enframe the outwardly openingsupport bar cavity 86. Thegibs 90 are mounted to thesupport bar 80 on opposing sides of thecavity 86 so that they are symmetrically disposed about the opening of thecavity 86. Thegibs 90 are mounted on thesupport bar 80 so that the inwardly facingsurface 91 of eachgib 90 is flush with thecavity wall 92, and thelip portion 93 of eachgib 90 extends inwardly beyond the plane of thecavity wall 92, as shown in Fig. 5. Eachgib 90 is mounted to thesupport bar 80 by a plurality offastening elements 94 threadedly engaging thesupport bar 80 as indicated at 95. The inwardly facingsurface 91 of thegibs 90 cooperate with thecoplanar cavity walls 92 to form achannel 96 normal to the plane of the mountingsurface 17. - The
intermediate dog 72 includes a T-shapeddogging block 98 and a pair of doggingplates 100 positioned and designed to engage the adjacent inwardly facingsurfaces flitch sections dogging block 98 is carried within the fixedframe 88 so that rectilinear movement within thechannel 96 is possible. Movement of thedogging block 98 inchannel 96 is limited by the inwardly protrudinglips 93 of thegibs 90 and thebottom wall 102 of thesupport bar cavity 86. Theintermediate dog assembly 70 is mounted on the flitch table 16 and the depth ofchannel 96 selected so that theintermediate dog 72 is projectable beyond the plane of the mountingsurface 17 and retractable within the flitch table 16 in response to movement of thedogging block 98. Eachdogging plate 100 is orthogonally mounted to a portion of thedogging block 98 which is both extendable beyond the plane of the mountingsurface 17 and retractable within the flitch table 16. Eachdogging plate 100 includes a mountingportion 104 and ajaw portion 106. The mountingportions 104 are secured to thedogging block 98 by a plurality of fastening elements (not shown) so that thejaw portions 106 extend in opposing directions. - The
dogging block 98 includes several features which facilitate its movement within thechannel 96. In the preferred embodiment of the reciprocating means 107 for moving the dogging block 98 (Fig. 5), thedogging block 98 includes acylinder bore 108 opening inwardly with respect to the plane of the mountingsurface 17. The cylinder bore 108 is designed so that it may receive a floatingpiston 110 having a plurality of peripherally extending sealing rings 112. The engagement of thepiston 110 and the cylinder bore 108 forms achamber 114 into which a pressurized fluid (not shown) may be injected through anorifice 116 in thepiston 110. The introduction of the pressurized fluid will fill the spacer within thechamber 114, causing thedogging block 98 to move outwardly with respect to the plane of the mountingsurface 17 to its projected position, as represented by the solid lines in Fig. 5. The pressurized fluid may be stored in aconvenient location 118 near the veneer slicer 10 and may be controlled by a suitablefluidic control system 120 as generally indicated by the schematic diagram in Fig. 3. The purpose of the cylinder drive is to project theintermediate dog 72 beyond the plane of the mountingsurface 17 to its projected position. - In addition, the reciprocating means 107 also includes biasing means 122 for biasing the
intermediate dog 72 toward its retracted position within the flitch table 16, as represented by the broken lines in Fig. 5. In the preferred embodiment, thedogging block 98 includes a plurality of fixture bores 124 symmetrically disposed about the longitudinal axis of thecylinder bore 108. The fixture bores 124 open outwardly with respect to the mountingsurface 17. The openings of the fixture bores 124 are capped by the mountingportions 104 of the doggingplates 100. Thedogging block 98 includes a plurality ofcylindrical holes 126 in itsbottom surface 125 equal in number to the number of fixture bores 124. Thecylindrical holes 126 are concentrically aligned with the fixture bores 124 and open toward thebottom wall 102 of thesupport bar cavity 86. The diameter of thecylindrical hole 126 is smaller than the diameter of the fixture bore 124 so that the threaded portion of abolt 128 may extend through thecylindrical hole 126 and the head of the unthreaded portion may be seated in the fixture bore 124. The biasing means 122 includes compression springs 130 interposed between the heads of thebolts 128 and the bottoms of the fixture bores 124. Thebolts 128 extend through thecylindrical hole 126 and threadedly engage thesupport bar 80. Thesprings 130 are designed so that theintermediate dog 72 is seated on thebottom wall 102 of thesupport bar cavity 86 when thesprings 130 are fully extended. Thus, springs 130 bias the intermediate dog toward its retracted position within the flitch table 16. - The preferred reciprocating means-107 employs a fluidic piston-cylinder drive to project the
intermediate dog 72 beyond the plane of the mounting surface 17 (as depicted in Fig. 5). Typically, theintermediate dog 72 is biased against thebottom wall 102 of thesupport bar cavity 26 so that the doggingplates 100 are retracted within the flitch table 16. - Each
flitch section surface 17 using the preferred mounting procedure. Operation of thefluidic control system 120 activates movement of theintermediate dogs 72,bottom dogs 22, andtop dogs 24. Referring to Fig. 3, theintermediate dogs 72 are moved to their projected positions by operating control means 140. Some of thebottom dogs 22 are moved to their gripping positions by operating control means 142. Some of thetop dogs 24 are moved to their gripping positions by operating control means 144. The remainingbottom dogs 22 andtop dogs 24 are simultaneously moved to their respective gripping positions by activating control means 146. The first step in the preferred mounting procedure is to move the doggingplates 100 beyond the plane of the mountingsurface 17 to their projected positions by operating the control means 140. The second step is to mount theflitch section 78 in its rotated orientation on a lower portion of the mountingsurface 17. The flat mounting surface offlitch section 78 is placed against the mountingsurface 17 so that the doggingplates 100 engage the longitudinalarcuate surface 77 of theflitch section 78. Some of thebottom dogs 22 are then activated by the control means 142 so that they grip the longitudinalflat surface 81 and constrainflitch section 78 against the mountingsurface 17. The third step is to mount theflitch section 79 on an upper portion of the mountingsurface 17. The flat mounting surface offlitch section 79 is placed against the mountingsurface 17 so that the doggingplates 100 engage the longitudinalflat surface 81 of theflitch section 79. Some of thetop dogs 24 are then activated by the control means 144 so that they grip the longitudinalarcuate surface 77 and constrainflitch section 79 against the mountingsurface 17. Finally, the remainingbottom dogs 22 andtop dogs 24 are simultaneously activated by control means 146 so that thebottom dogs 22 grip the longitudinalflat surface 81 offlitch section 78 and thetop dogs 24 grip the longitudinalarcuate surface 77 offlitch section 79. - Sequentially mounting and gripping the
flitch sections flitch section 79 could be mounted before theflitch section 78 is mounted or bothflitch sections - Alternatively, the reciprocating means could be proportioned and designed so that the intermediate dog is normally spring-biased beyond the plane of the mounting surface. This configuration would remove the need for a fluidic piston-cylinder drive. The flitch table 16 would be set up to accommodate two flitch sections. However if the veneer cutter elected to slice a
conventional flitch 26, the springs would allow theintermediate dog 72 to retract within the flitch table under the weight of theflitch 26. - The new intermediate dogs add a significant measure of flexibility to a standard flitch table. Surface texture quality of sliced veneer sheets can be markedly improved with minimal effort following the incorporation of this unique invention into a conventional veneer slicer.
Claims (7)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US40346982A | 1982-07-30 | 1982-07-30 | |
US403469 | 1982-07-30 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0101863A1 EP0101863A1 (en) | 1984-03-07 |
EP0101863B1 true EP0101863B1 (en) | 1986-09-17 |
Family
ID=23595896
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP19830106896 Expired EP0101863B1 (en) | 1982-07-30 | 1983-07-14 | Veneer slicer |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0101863B1 (en) |
CA (1) | CA1204985A (en) |
DE (1) | DE3366282D1 (en) |
ES (1) | ES524606A0 (en) |
Families Citing this family (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5979524A (en) * | 1997-06-27 | 1999-11-09 | Danzer North America, Inc. | Veneer slicer |
US6102090A (en) | 1998-08-20 | 2000-08-15 | Danzer North America, Inc. | Flitch table mounting |
BR0307362A (en) | 2002-02-04 | 2006-12-26 | Danzer North America Inc | backplate cutter, and method of converting a log block into backplate sheets |
Family Cites Families (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE913696C (en) * | 1952-01-01 | 1954-06-18 | Heidenreich & Harbeck Gmbh | Veneer knife machine |
AT187296B (en) * | 1954-11-03 | 1956-10-25 | Fritz Koelbl | Clamping device on gang saws for holding tree trunks |
US3680612A (en) * | 1971-03-17 | 1972-08-01 | Capital Machine Co | Extension dog system for veneer slicer |
US3905408A (en) * | 1974-03-29 | 1975-09-16 | Capital Machine Co | Vacuum flitch table for veneer slicer |
-
1983
- 1983-07-06 CA CA000431918A patent/CA1204985A/en not_active Expired
- 1983-07-14 EP EP19830106896 patent/EP0101863B1/en not_active Expired
- 1983-07-14 DE DE8383106896T patent/DE3366282D1/en not_active Expired
- 1983-07-29 ES ES524606A patent/ES524606A0/en active Granted
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
CA1204985A (en) | 1986-05-27 |
ES8501281A1 (en) | 1984-11-16 |
DE3366282D1 (en) | 1986-10-23 |
EP0101863A1 (en) | 1984-03-07 |
ES524606A0 (en) | 1984-11-16 |
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