US1332477A - Automatic wood-saw - Google Patents

Description

L. D. STURM. AUTOMATIC woon sAw. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5, |919.

Patented Mar. 1920.

2 sHEETs-sHET I.

L. D. STURM.

AUTOMATIC W00@ SAW.

APPLlcATxoN mEn FEB.5.1919.

Patented Mar. 2, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- A TTORNE Y LEWIS D. STURM, OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

AUTOMATIC WOOD-SAW.

Specioaton of Letters Iatent.

Patented Mar. 2, 1920.

Application filed February 5, 1919. Serial No. 275,068.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Lewis D. STURM, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon, have invented a new and useful Automatic Wood-Saw, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in wood saws, in which four-foot long sticks of cord wood are deposited on an inclined table and automatically, by means of conveyer chains, carried past a plurality of circular saws, whereby said sticks are cut into blocks of requisite stove length.

The objects of my invention are:

First, to provide a machine which eliminates the rehandling of every individual block of wood, so that the time of sawing a definite quantity is vastly shortened and also the necessary labor materially reduced.

Second, to produce blocks which are all of equal length.

Third, to provide a machine which may be used either movably or stationarily.

Fourth, to provide a machine which will drop the blocks ldirectly into a wagon where delivery from a wood yard to a customer is intended.

Fifth, to make provisions for easy changing of the saws.

Sixth, to make provisions for the instantaneous release of the conveyer mechanism in case the saws should be crowded.

I attain these objects with the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure I is a side elevation of the entire machine, also hereinafter referred to as right-hand side;

Fig. II is a plan view.

Fig. III is a rear elevation;

Fig. IV is a side elevation, opposite to the one shown in Fig. I, t'. e. the left hand side;

Fig. V s an 'elevation of the releasing mechanism for the chain conveyors, as it would appear from the front of the machine.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

On la horizontal frame 1, and supported by suitable posts 2 is mounted the inclined table 3. Attached to the under side of said table (Fig. I) are the bearings 4 for the shaft 5 and the bearings 6 for the shaft 7 In Fig. II it appears that shaft 5 is equipped with two circular saws 8 and 8a, both saws placed at about equal distance from the longitudinal center line of the table, but the number of saws as well as their location on the shaft may be varied without affecting the principle of my machine. S0 also, though shaft 7 shows one circular saw 9 at the center line of the table, the same reservation applies to this case.

The saw blades project through the slots 10 beyond the upper surface of the table I3 so that a stick of wood drawn across the table will be divided into blocks of a length corresponding with the setting of the saws. To carry the stick automatically across the table, conveyer chains 11 are mounted on each side of the saws, crossing the table in longitudinal directions. Thesechains run in grooves 12 (Fig. II) and have attached at certain intervals Scrapers `13 whichl insure the propelling of the sticks past the saws or, farther on, the blocks over the edge of the table. At 14: in Figs. I and II is shown such a stick which has been out into blocks and is on the point of being dropped over the upper edge of the table.

Sprocket wheels at both ends of the table provide for the return of the chain conveyers. At the upper end these sprocket wheels are designated by the numeral 15, the shaft on which latter are mounted by 16, and the necessary bearings for the shaft by 17. The corresponding sprocket wheels, shaft and bearings at the lower edge of the table are designated by the numerals 18, 19 and 20 respectively.

It may here be mentioned that the upper l sprocket wheels are set slightly divergent from the line of the lower sprocket wheels. This is desirable in order to relieve the saws yas much as ossible from inchino.

The conveyer chains `in course of time will stretch and sag, and have a tendency to sway against the adjacent saw blades, much to the damage of each other. To eliminate this danger, and also to insure an even stretching of the conveyer chains, I have provided a stabilizer in the shape of the ianged pulleys 21 resting on the conveyer chains 11. Said pulleys are mountedon the shaft 22 and the latter is held in its place by the slotted bearings 23.

The driving power for my apparatus is furnished by any suitable power generator, in this case by the engine 23a of the truck 23b itself. The fly wheel 24e, by means of lbelt connection 25 drives the shaft 26. This shaft is located at the right hand side of the 'machine and attached to the horizontal frame l 'by means of the bearing 27'; from' thence by the quarter-turn belt 28 the shaft 5 is driven.

A chain drive 29 at the left hand side connects shaft 5 with shaft 7. From shaft-7, but` at the .right .handside of the .machine, belt 30 drives the conveyer mechanism. However, in order to give a suiicient reduction of. speed, two intermediate shafts 3l and 32 are introduced. Both shafts may be located onthe horizontal frame l`v and transmission between both may be accomplished by a suitable pinion 33 (Fig. IV) on shaft 31 and a gear 34 on the shaft 32. Fromthe'latter shaft, at the left hand side of the machine, the chain drive 35connects with the shaft 16 at the upper end of the table..

If for some reason the saws shouldnot Vcut as fast/Tas the conveyer chains feed, I have made provisions for an instant release of the conveying mechanism. F or this purpose an idle` pulley 36 presses constantly against thebelt 30, saidpulley beingI pivoted at the upper end ofthe vertical lever 37, the lower endbeing held 'to the horizontal frame 1 by a tension spring 38.v Said lever being fulcrumed by meansof shaft 39`in bearings 40 ontheh'orizontal frame l (see Fig. V); A rope4l, yattached with one endV to an eyelet 42at `th`e upper part of the vertical lever 37, and'witlr the other end .attached to the inclined table 3, enables thel operator to withdraw thegpulleyv from the belt30 land to stopthe conveying mechanism from feeding tillv the .saws 'have again reached their full s eed.T

PA board. 43 mountedat the lower end of .the table 3", at approximately'rightan les to the latter, forms a convenient hopper or the reception'of the wooden sticks. Apertures 43a' (Fig. II') permit free passage/to the Scrapers 13.` A suitable guard 44, atione end lofthe hopper, insures the'correctv startingjvpointfor the wooden sticks. yin order to have all the blocks :offeven length.

In' these drawings f thelmachine 'is shown mounted on'aftruck 23b to make it'quickly available at differentplac'es. For stationaryyuse, any other suitable lbase may be sub'- stituted `'and other power generators'may be employed." y

The saws 8," 8" and`9, andthe sprocket wheels for the chain 29v on .the shafts 5` and 7` are alli fastened with set screws. In changing the saws, thesetscrews: are loosened,', the shafts withdrawn from their bearings, andthe required change can b'e made without diiiiculty.l

Where'a lcustomer requires only two cuts in his wood, the upper left hand saw 8a is removed entirely and the Aright hand saw.. is shiftedtoward'the center of the table to occupy the slot 45, while the lower saw is shifted from the center toward the left Side into slot 46. Where only one cut is re quired, both upper` saws are removed and the lower saw remains where it is shown at present.

I-Iaving described my invention, it will be;,seenthat my objects have been accomplished, and though I have shown the preferred formof myinvention, I reserve to myself the right to make minor changes of construction providing I do not violate the spirit and principles .of my claims.

I`claim:

1. In an automatic wood-saw, the combination of an auto truck having Aa propelling engine and a body portion, with a table surmounting the body portion, saidtable inclining upward `from the engine toward the rear ofthe truck, a plurality of rotary saws on the table, chain conveyers ascending the tableon eacht side ofthe rotary saws, and mechanism to `drivethe saws and vchain conveyers from the flywheel of the propelling engine. A 2, 'In an automatic wood-saw, the combination of an auto truck havingga propelling engine and a body portion, with a table` onl the body portion inclining upward from the engine toward the rear of the truck, afsecond table abuttingthe first-namedtable at the` lower end 'and inclining upward toward the engine, al pluralityof chain conveyers emerging atthe juncture of th'e two tables and ascending in ua. slightly diverging direction to the ,upper edge ofthe trstenamedtable, a plurality of rotaryysaws mounted' between the chain conveyers,and means to drive the saws and chain conveyers from the flywheel of lthe auto truck engine.

3. In an automatic ,wood-saw, Atheecombination of 'an auto .truck havingnabodyl portion and a propelling engineon the body portion, withpaninclined table. on th'ebody portionandadjacentto the engine, yrotary saws on the table, chain conveyersvdescendingbelow said tableon each side of.v the' saws, guidingpulleys resting on the.`chainl conveyers to keep the latter from swayingagainst the rotary saws, a shaft to mount fthejguiding pulleys, uides at'eachend of said "shaft,

saidv guides. eingattaehedto the .underside 4ofthe inclined table, andgmeanstofdrive saws `and chain conveyers vfrom -the flywheel ofthe auto truck engine.

4f.i In anautomatic 4wood-saw, the .combi-l nation ofan auto truck ,l1aving a-,body portionl and 'a propelling engine, with-a.V wood sawinggelevatorA mounted on the body ,por-

tion, la transmission shaftifor driving the,

woodfsawing-.elevator attached to oneside and' parallell with the body` portion, vsaid transmission shaftbeingr drivenl from the flywheel fof the auto truck engine..

5j. In an `automatic: ,woodsaw, the ,combiy nation of an auto` truck h'avingfa body p0rtion and a propellin engine, with a wood sawing elevator on t e body portion, said wood sawing elevator comprising an inclined table with rotary saws and chain conveyers, a board across the lower end of the inclined table at approximately right angles to the latter, a removable guard at one end of the valley formed by table and board, and mechanism to drive the wood sawing elevator from the flywheel of the auto truck engine.

6. In an automatic wood-saw, the combination of an auto truck having a propelling engine, with an inclined table on the truck and adjacent to the engine, a plurality of chain conveyers ascending the table and returning below the table, a stabilizing weight on the returning run of the chain conveyers, a plurality of rotary saws attached to the table, shafts to support the saws, driving mechanism between saw shafts and propelling engine, an intermediate shaft driven by a belt from the saw shaft, a second intermediate shaft driven by a gear from the first-named intermediate shaft, a chain drive from the second intermediate shaft to the chain conveyers, and means to render the belt connection between the saw shafts and the rst-named intermediate shaft instantly inoperative.

7 In an automatic wood-saw, the combination of an auto truck having a propelling engine, with an inclined table on the truck, a plurality of chain conveyers ascending the table, rotary saws on the table between the chain conveyers, shafts to support the saws, mechanism to drive the saws from the flywheel of the propelling engine, an intermediate shaft driven by a belt from the saw shafts, a second intermediate shaft driven by a gear from the first-named intermediate shaft, a chain drive from the second intermediate shaft to the chain conveyers, a lever with tension spring and pulley pressing against the belt between the saw shafts and the first-named intermediate shaft, capable of being manually withdrawn and thereby to stop the motion of the chain conveyers.

LEWIS D. STUK-M.

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