US1423621A - Heel log cutting machine - Google Patents

Description

J. E. MITCHELL AND D. PARKS.

HEEL LOG CUTTING MACHINE. 2 APPLICATION FILED JULY I9. I920. 1,423,21. A Patented July 25, 1222.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

In van 230m I. E. MITCHELL AND D. PARKS.

HEEL LOG CUTTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 19. 1920.

1,42 3,62 1, Patentd July 25, 1922..

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- J. E! MITCHELL AND 0. PARKS.

HEEL LOG CUTTING MACHINE. APPLICAITION FILED JULY I9. 1920.

1,4235%, Y PatenteciJuly 25,1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

B @mnfi Farm swis- JOHN MITCT-I ELL AND DENNIS PARKS, .OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

HEEL LOG CUTTING IVIACHINE.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that we, JOHN E. IVIITOHELL and DENNIS PARKS, citizens of the United States, residing in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented new and useful Improvements in Heel Log Cutting Machines, of which the following is a specification. 1

This invention relates to a machine for cutting lifts from a heel-log. In effecting this operation, machines have been built in which the log is rotated on its axis as it comes into contact with the knife; other machines have been used in which the knives or cutters rotate around the log which is held relatively fixed, and as the cutters rotate they move progressively toward the central axis of the log. After .each lift is cut from the log, the log is advanced automatically into the position for cutting off the next lift. The general object of :the invention is to produce a verysimple machine for cutting the lifts, of uniform thickness, from the log without necessitating the rotation of the log, and without necessitating any inward movement of the cutters toward the axis-of the log duringthe cutting operation. A principal object is to provide means for cutting the lifts from the log through the agency of a relatively fixed rotating cutter, that in operation, will sever the lift by cutting all around the log and finish the cut in the interior of the log, without necessitating the rotation of the log on its own axis. By cutting inwardly all around the'log a uniform thickness of the lift at its edge .is insured. A further object of the invention is to provide a cutter which has a construction that will give a maximum of stiffness and strength in a thin cutting edge,

such as is necessary touse in order to avoid waste of material.

Further objects of the invention willappear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel features, and in the general combination of parts to be particularly described hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce a simple and eflicient heel-log cutting, machine. A preferred embodiment ofourin- 'vention will be particularly described in .the following specification, while the broad Specificationof Letters Patent.

Patented July 25, 1922.

1920; ,Serial No. 397,490.

scope of our invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

'In the drawing- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying our invention, certain parts being broken away;

Figure 2 is a plan of the machine shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 isan elevation of the machine as viewed from the left end of Figure 1;

Figure 4% is a cross section through the machine taken on the line 4-%t of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a cross section upon an en larged scale through the upper part of the log holding means; and

Figure 6 is a front elevation of the cutter and illustrating the manner in which it cooperates with the log to sever a lift.

Referring more particularly to the parts, the frame 1 of the machine comprises two oppositely disposed sills 2 on which bridge frames 3 and 4 are mounted. The bridge frame 4 extends upwardly and terminates above in a bearing 5 which is in alignment with a similar bearing 6 carried at the upper end of another bridge frame 7. The bearings 5 and-6 afford means for rotatably supporting a cutter so that it will rotate about the axis of the shaft 8 rotatably mounted in the bearings. This cutter has an edge which is maintained at afixed distance fromthe axis of the shaft 8. The heel-log 9 is held so that its end projects past the plane of rotation of-the cutter. With the heel-log in this position we produce a relative lateral movement between the log and the cutter so that the log engages the-cuttingedge,first on one side ofthe axis and then on the other side of the axisof rotation, which completes the severanceof thelift. In order to accomplish this we prefer to rotate the cutter in a stationary position and niountthe log on movable log-ho-ldingmeans in the form of a rocking framelO. The cutter is preferably inthe form of a disk 11 having an opening ,12 substantially at its central point. The cutter is supported on theshaft 8 by means .ofa spider 13 secured to the shaft, the outer edge of the disk being clamped to theends of the arms of the spider by means of aring plate .14, (see Fig 6). The edge of the open- [inglQ is formed into a cuttingedge 15.-

Any suitable edge may be provided at this oint, but we prefer to employ saw teeth. i Ve are enabled to use saw teeth by reason of the fact that by placing the cutting edge on the edge of an opening in this way, the edge will be relatively stiff, even if the thickness of the material of the saw blade at the edge is very small. For this reason there is little sawdust or waste of material. The log-supporting means 10 may be of any suitable construction operating to support the log with its end projecting into the opening 1.2 and past the plane of rotation of the cutter 11. Any suitable means may be provided for effecting a lateral movement of the log so as to bring it into engagement with the cuttin edge 15 in such a way as to sever the lift. l e prefer, however, simply to provide for giving the frame 10 a to and fro rocking movement, that is to say, we rock it in one direction so as to bring one side of the log into engagement with the cutting edge 15 on one side of the axis of rotation (see Fig. 6), and then move the log to the opposite side so that the edge on the opposite side of the axis of rotation completes the severance of the lift. In cutting off the lift, it will be evident that the cut made by the teeth of the cutter will extend entirely around the out side of the log before the lift is completely severed; in other words, the portion of the log that is the last to be cut is the center. or

practically the same as it would be if the log itself were rotating. In Figure 6 the dotted outlines 16 and 1''? indicate the two positions of the log at the extremes of its lateral travel.

We also prefer to construct the control ling mechanism for the log so that while in engagement with the cutting edge, the log moves with an increased speed, but when the axis of the log is substantially coincident with the axis of rotation, the log is moving comparatively slowly. At this time, the automatic feeding mechanism which we provide effects the forward feeding movement of the log, after which the log is reclamped. by the holding means preparatory to severing another lift.

In order to carry out these objects, the rocking frame 10 may be loosely supported at its lower end on a cam shaft 18 which is continuously driven through a suitable gear train 19 with which co-operates an idle shaft 20, so that the cam shaft 18 is driven at a relatively low speed. The cam shaft 18 carries a cam 21 (see Fig. 4), the face of which is engaged by a roller 22 carried on a lever 23 and the upper end of which is connected by a link 24- with the middle portion of the rocking frame 10. Any suitable means may be employed for holding the roller 22 up against the cam. For this purpose, we may employ a spring or weight 25 carried on an arm extending out from the each other.

'1), the lower end of rocking frame 10 on the opposite side from the link 24 (see Fig. i). The cam co-opcrates with the roller 22 to swing the frame 1.0 on the axis of the shaft 18, first in one direction and then in the other direction. The swinging movement in one direction partially severe the lift and the swinging in the opposite direction completes the severance of the lift, as will be evident from an inspection of Figure 6. Any suitable feeding mechanism or feeding device may be provided for effecting the forward movement of the log when it is in a neutral position, that is to say, when it is at an intermediate point of its swing and clear of the cutting edge. The upper portion of the rocking frame 10 is provided with a back plate or ll-shaped guide or trough 26 (see Figs. 4 and 5) in which the heel log lies. Near the middle point of the rocking frame, two feed levers 27 are attached on a rock shaft 28. These levers extend upwardly to a point near each side of the log, at which point it is provided with two gripper bars 29, one located on each side of the log. These gripper bars rest on the upper edges of the guide 26 (see Fig. and their inner faces are formed with teeth 30 projecting toward the cutter, for engaging the side of the log. It should be understood that one of the levers 27- is located on each side of the log. The gripper bars 29 are ly to these levers but are provided on their outer faces with sockets which receive small struts or pins 31, each pin being mounted to slide through an opening 32 in the upper end of its corresponding lever. These pins 31 are forced inwardly by means of a feed plate 33 corresponding to each pin, the upper end of each plate 33 being formed with a socket3at to engage the outer end of its corresponding pin. The lower end of each plate 33 is bent inwardly to form a fulcrum or foot 35 to engage against the outer side of its corresponding lever. Any suitable means is provided for resilently forcing the plates inwardly to hold. the gripper bars 29 against the sides of the log. F or this purpose,we may connect the plates 33 by a through-bolt 36 which extends past'one of the plates and carries a coil spring 37 (see Fig. 5). With this construction, it will be evident that the spring 37 will co-operate with the through-bolt 36 as an equalizer, to pull both the plates 33 inwardly and toward One of the levers 27 has a downwardly extending arm '27 (see Fig. which 'is provided with a roller 38 resting on the side face of a disk cam 39.

with a spring 4:0 for holding the roller 38 up against its cam and an adjustable stop is provided for limiting the movement of the of which will come up against a fixed stop not attached direct- The levers 27 are each provided 42 on the frame 10, if permitted to do'so by the face of the cam 39. I provide means for yieldingly clamping the log to prevent its being carried back when the gripper bars 29 travel back, that is, away from the cutter above, is rigidly attached to a rock shaft 45,

the ends of which are mounted to rotate in bearings 46 which extend down from the bridge frames 3 and 4 (see Fig. l). The shaft 8 may be rotated in any suitable manner, for example, by means of a belt 47 running over a suitable belt pulley 48 carried by the shaft.

Vi e shall now describe briefly the mode of operation of the complete machine.

The cutter or saw 11 is rotated continu ously at a high velocity. The rotation of the shaft 8, which carries the cutter, is imparted through the gear train 19 to the cam shaft 18. As the cam 21 rotates it rocks the lever 23 toward one side. This swings the rocking frame 10 on the shaft 18 and moves the log laterally toward. the position indicated by the dotted outline 16 inFigure 6, that is to say, it brings the log'into engagement, with the cutting edge 15 on one side of the axis of rotation. This only partially severs the lift; a swinging movement then takes place in the opposite direction and carries the log laterally toward the position indicated by the dotted outlinelt'. This completes the severance of the lift. The log then swings back toward its neutral position and while in such position the cam 39 operates the transverse shaft 28; this rocks the arms 27 of the feeding device, including the gripper bars 29. The teeth on these gripper bars project toward the cutter so that they slide along the face of the log in a rearward direction without moving the log, but when they are moved forward through the co-operation of springs 40 and the cam 39, they grip the log and move it forward until the end of the log comes up against a gage just beyond the plane of rotation of the cutter and located at the point 49. This completes the cycle of movement.

In practice, as thecutterruns at a high speed the lifts will be thrown away from the machine at a high velocity. For this reason it is desirable to provide a closed chute, which is not illustrated, but which should be located in a position to catch the lift and guide it away from the machine as it is cut off.

It is understood that the embodiment of the machine described herein is only one of the many embodiments our invention may take, and we do not wish to beliinited in the practice of ourinvention, nor in our claims, to the particular embodiment set forth. 1

V'Vhat we claim is 1. In a heel log cutting machine, the combination of a frame, a shaft mounted to rotate therein, a spider carried by the end of the shaft, a cutter attached to the spider having a central opening formed with acutting edge located with the center of the opening substantially on the axis of the shaft, movable log supporting means mounted on the frame for holding the heel log with its end projecting into the opening, and means for imparting a lateral rocking movement to the log supporting means to move the log against the edge of the cutter, and thereby sever a lift from the log, the said spider operating to permit the severed lift to fall after the same has been severed.

2. In a heel-log cutting machine, the combination of a frame, a cutter supported on said frame to rotate about an axis, having an opening substantially on said axis with a cutting edge, a rocking frame for supporting theheel-log with its end projecting into the opening, continuously driven rotary means for moving the rocking frame in one direction to move one side of the log against the cutting'edge to partially sever a lift, said meansoperating thereafter to move the rockingframe in the other direction to engage the cutting edge on the other side of the axis and completely sever the lift.

3. In a heel-log cutting machine, the combination of a frame, a cutter supported on said frame to rotate about an axis, having an opening substantially on said axis with a cutting edge, a rocking frame forsu porting the heellogwith its end projecting into the opening, continuously driven rotary means for moving the rocking frame in one direction to move one side of the log against the cutting edge to partially sever alift, said means operating thereafter to move the rocking frame in the other direction to engage the cutting edge on the other side of the axis and completely sever the lift, and meansfor shoving the log forward after each lift is severed.

4. In a heel-log cutting machine, the combination of a frame, a cutter mounted to rotate about an axis and having a cutting edge maintained at a fixed distance from the axis, said edge being disposed on opposite sides of the axis of rotation, a rocking frame for supporting the heel-logwith its end projecting past the plane ofrotation of the cutter, continuously driven ro- I tary, means for moving the log laterally in one direction to engage the cutting edge on one side of the said axis to partially sever a lift, said means operating to move the log in the oppositedirection to engage thecutting edge on the other side of the axis, and thereby completely sever the lift.

5. In a heel-log cutting machine, the combination of a frame, a rotary cutter mounted on the frame, a rocking frame including a pivotally supported log-holder having means for yieldingly clamping the log, with its axis substantially parallel with the axis of the pivotal support, gripper-bars for gripping the sides of the log, means for swinging the rocking frame on its pivot to sever a lift from the end of the log, means for pressing the gripper bars against the sides of the log, and means for reciprocating the gripper bars longitudinally of the log holder so as to effect a forward feeding movement of the log when the same is out of contact with the cutter.

. 6. In a heel-log cutting machine, the combination of a frame, a pivotally supported rotary cutter mounted on the frame ,a rocle ing frame including alog-holder for holding the log extending substantially parallel with the axis of the pivotal support, a pair of oppositely disposed gripper-bars for gripping opposite sides of the log, means mounted on the rocking frame for reciprocating the gripper-bars to effect a feeding move ment of the log toward the cutter, means on the log-holder for clamping the log to prevent its being moved away from the cut ter when the gripper bars travel back and away from: the cutter, and means for swinging the rocking frame to sever a lift from the end of the log.

i 7. In a heel-log cutting machine, the combination of a frame, a rotary cutter mounted on the frame, a rocking frame also mounted on the frame and including a logholder, co-operating gripper bars for gripping the sides of the log, feed levers carrying the same and mounted to rock on the rocking frame toward and from the cutter,

a cam for moving the said levers in a direction to cause the gripper bars to travel back and away from the cutter, a spring operating to move the levers and thepgripper bars toward the cutter to feed the log: forward into the plane of the cutter, a stop for limiting the forward movement of the gripper-bars and means for swinging the rocking frame to sever a lift from the end of the log, i

8. In a heel-log cutting machine, the combination of a frame, a rotary cutter mounja ed on the frame, a shaft also mounted on the frame, a rocking frame mounted to rock on the cam shaft and including a log-holder opposite the rotary cutter, co-operating gripperbars for gripping the sides of the log, means mounted on the rocking frame for reciprocating the gripper bars to feed the log forward, a cam for moving saidtmeans in a di rection to move the gripper bars back and away from the cutter, a spring operating 'bination of a frame, a log holder and a r0- ta-ry cutter mounted on the frame, a pair of feed levers associated with the log-holder, mounted to rock toward and from the cutter 'andwdisposed on opposite sides of the log, a gripper bar corresponding to each lever for engaging the side of the log, a feed plate mounted on each feed lever, means for connecting the feed plates including a spring tending to force the feed plates towardeach other, means for imparting the pressure of the feed plates to the gripper bars, means for rocking the feed levers to effect a feed ing movement in the log, and means for producing a relative movement between the log-holder and the cutter to sever a lift from the end of the log.

10. In a heel-log cutting machine, thecombination of frame, a log-holder and a rotary cutter mounted on the frame, a pair of feed levers associated with the log-holder, mounted to-rock toward-and from the cutter and disposed on opposite sides ofth-e log, a gripper bar corresponding to each lever for engaging thev side of the log, a feed plate mounted on each feed lever, means for connectingthe feed plates including a spring tending to force the feed plates toward 'each other, pins guided through the feed levers for imparting pressure from thefeed plates to the gripper bars, means for rocking the feed-levers to effect a feeding movement of the log, andmeans" for producing a relative movement between the log -holder and cutter to sever a lift from the end of the log. i i

11. In a heel-log cutting machine, in combination, a frame, a shaft rotatably mounted in said frame, a spider attached to the end of said shaft, a saw attached to said spider and consisting of a disk with a central opening, the edge of" said opening having teeth thereon, a rocking frame supported on said frame to swing to and fro in a plane substantially parallel with the plane, of the saw, means carried by the rocking framefor supporting 'a heel-log substantially onthe axis of rotation of the saw, and operating to support the heel-log with its end projecting through the opening of the saw, means for swinging the rocking frame to and fro to sever a lift from the end of the log, and automatic means carried by the rocking frame to advance the heel-log into; the open ing of the saw when the rocking vframe. is in substantially mid-position with the heellog out of contact with the cutting edge.

12. In a heel-log cutting machine, the erating with the cam to effect a rocking combination of a frame, a horizontal cutmovement of the rocking frame to present ter shaft mounted in the upper part of the the heel-10g to the cutter and cut off lifts frame, a cutter carried by the shaft, a rock from the log, and means for holding the 5 ing frame pivotally mounted on the frame, roller in contact with the cam. 15 means for holding the heel-10g on the rook- In testimony whereof, we have hereunto ing frame near the position of the cutter, set our hands.

a cam rotatably mounted on the axis of movement of the rocking frame, a roller as- JOHN E. MITCHELL. 10 sociated with the rocking frame and co-op- DENNIS PARKS.

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