US1768029A - Sawmill-block cleaner - Google Patents

Description

June 24, 1930. A. BRATLIE SAWMILL BLOCK CLEANER Filed May 15. 1929 4\ firthurfirmlie Patented June 24, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ARTHUR IBR-ATLIE, OF SNOQUALMIE FALLS, WASHINGTON, ASSIG-NOR TO WEYER- HAEUSER TIMBER COMPANY, OF TACOMA, WASHINGTON, A CORPORATION OF WASHINGTON SAWMILL-BLOCK CLEANER Application filed May 13,

the course of this handling bits of bark are broken off and dropped, some of them upon the blocks. Sawdust also tends to he as a thick coating upon all parts of the carriage. If these blocks be not kept clear of this debris the timbers will be ultimately supported, perhaps at one edge, slightly above the blocks, so that they will be canted slightly with respect to the knees, in part or wholly, and planks sawed therefrom will not be square nor of uniform thickness. If the dbris happens to lie between the rear edge of the timber and the forward face of the knee, the timber, though still resting on the blocks squarely will be forced outwardly at this point, and again the planks will not be square or of uniform thickness. Such dbris, particularly sawdust, if left on the blocks, may penetrate between the kneeand the block and interfere with the proper operation of the knee.

It is the principal object of my invention, then, to provide preventive means which may be associated with such blocks and knees, whereby the blocks may, whenever it is desired to do so, be cleaned of the debris which gathers in front of the knees, thus completely obviating the difficulties mentioned above. i

It is a further object to provide a mechanism capable of accomplishing the results above, which may be easily attached to various types of knees, and which is simple and convenient, and reliable in operation, and adapted for operation by a medium gen erally available in connection with sawmills. r

My invention comprises the novel parts, and the novel combination and arrangement 1929. Serial No. 362,760.

of the parts, as shown in the accompanying drawings, described in the specification, and as will be particularly defined by the claims which terminate the same.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown my invention in a typical arrangement, associated with a standard block and knee, it being understood tht it may be varied in form and arrangement, especially as this may be required by other blocks and knees. V

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my device, shown associated with a standard block and knee. I

Figure 2 is a horizontal section through my device, showing the method of attachment of the same to the knee.

Figure 3 is an end view, and Figure ft is a plan view showing the manner in which a timber may be misplaced on the blocks by a piece of debris, and Figures 5 and 6 are, respectively, end elevation and plan view, showing a timber canted by a piece of dbris which has displaced the timber from its proper position. I

As I-have stated before, the particular construction o-f'the sawmill carriage, indicated at 9, the block Syand theknee 7, and

the particular mechanism for operatin the various elements, have no particular earing on my invention, and may be any standard or selected form. As illustrated, the block 8, which is one of a series of such blocks, is disposed transversely of the carriage 9, which is longitudinally movable on tracks, which are not shown, and the knee 7 is transversely movable, by means not shown, on the block 8. The timber to be sawed, indicated at T in Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6, rests upon the upper surface of the block 8, and is engaged at its rear face by the forward face 70 of the knee 7. To slide it forwardly along the block into position to be sawed by the saw S (see Figure 3) various dogs and other mechanism for holding and moving the timber may be provided, but these have been omitted for purposes of clearness, and inasmuch as they form no part of my present invention.

ber T is resting upon the surfaceSO of the block or blocks, and the knees 7 are moved forward to advance the timber into the path of the saw S. If a piece of dbris, such as a bit of bark, indicated at D, happens to fall upon one of the blocks, between the rear face of the timber and the advancing forward face 70 of the knee 7, this portion of the timber, which may be one end, for example, is thrown outwardly by just the thickness of the piece of debris, and upon the saw S entering the timber its kerf K will not be parallel to one of the squared faces, but inclined with respect thereto, and the first plank removed, at least, will be tapering, and considerable valuable timber will be lost. Furthermore, the bit of debris at D, during the course of advancing timber, may be broken up, and the various planks will again be tapering, so that one bit of debris at such a location may, to a considerable extent, spoil the entire timber, or at least cause the loss of a considerable proportion thereof.

However, on occasion, the knee may engage the rear face of the timber, but the piece of dbris, indicated at D in Figures 5 and 6, may lie under the rear edge of the timber at the junction'of the knee and block, and this will cause the timber to be canted somewhat, so that the planks sawed off of the timber will not have their edge square, and

the first plank, at least, will be thicker in some portions than it is at others, and the faces thereof will be tapered somewhat, transversely of the plank.

To insure that all such bits of debris are removed before the timber is adjusted to its final position for sawing up, I provide a member 1 located at the junction, or angle, of the surfaces and 80 of the knee and block, respectively; the surface 70, at the junction with the block surface 80, being recessed, as seen at 71, the member 1 being normally inward of or flush with the surface 70 of the knee, but at any event not outwardly thereof. This member. 1 has means to project it forwardly, in contact with the surface 80 of the block, so as to sweep this surface clear. Preferably, this member 1 is somewhat resilient, and it may be pivotally mounted by one end, sothat it will move with a sweeping or pivotal motion. Should it strike an object which is diflicult to move (the timber itself for in- .stance),it will not, because of its resilient character, be liable to break, but will yield.

The means for operating this member will necessarily vary with the character and arrangement of the block and knee to which itis attached. So, also, the motive power will vary. Some saw-mills are electrically controlled, and others are controlled by compressed air, or steam. In the arrangement shown in Figures 1 and 2 the mechanism is arranged for operation by compressed air. Hence, a pipe 3 leads from a source of compressed air (not shown) to a cylinder 2, within which is reciprocable a piston 20. A piston rod 21 projects forwardly from the piston 20, and this piston rod is in effect connected directly to the arm 1. As the arm 1 must be at the level of the upper surface 80 of the block and as it is not desirable to place the cylinder 2 at this elevation, but preferably somewhat lower, it will generally be found convenient to connect the piston rod 21 to an arm or lever 11, secured upon a vertical shaft 12, to which the arm 1 is secured, as, for example, by securement to an arm 13 fast upon the shaft 12. The entire arm 1, and its connections, may be suitably supported from the knee 7, preferably by a bracket 10. V

In effect, the piston rod 21 is directly connected to the end of the arm 1 to swing it about the pivot axis of the shaft 12. However, this necessitates some movement of the point of connection between the piston rod and the arm 11 in an arc, and to accommodate this the cylinder 2 is provided with a lug 22, by means of which it is pivoted upon a second bracket 23, supported by a bolt 24 from the knee 7. V

Admission of air through the connection 3 to the interior of the cylinder 2, controlled by a conveniently located valve 30, will force the piston 20 rearwardly in the cylinder, and will cause movement of the arm 1 in a manner indicated by'dotted lines in Figure 2. This causes the arm to sweep over the surface, as has been explained, and to sweep ofi the dbris, and this may be repeated as frequently as may be necessary. The return movement of the arm 1 may conveniently be caused by a spring 4, which may be seated against an apertured plate 25 within the cylinder, and bearing upon this plate and against the piston 20. Thus, the arm 1 is automatically returned to its recess 7 0 upon release of the air pressure in the connection 8, and the venting of the cylinder through this connection, whereupon the timber may be placed in position upon vthe block 80 and moved forward by the knee 7, with the assurance that it isv squarely placed. The recess 71 cannot fill up with dbris, since it is closed at all times, except as the bar 1 is sweeping forward, clearing off the dbris in front of it.

l/Vhat I claim as my invention is;

1. In combination with a sawmill block and a knee slidable therealong, means disposed in the face of the knee at its junction with the block, and means operable at will to project said means along the block to sweep dbris from in front of the knee.

2. In combination with a sawmill block and a knee slidable therealong, said knee face at the junction with the block, a member normally disposed in said recess, and flush with the face of the knee, and means to project said member from its recess to sweep dbris from in front of the knee.

3. In combination with a sawmill block I and a knee slidable therealong, said knee being transversely recessed in its forward face at the junction with the block, a resilient bar normally disposed in said recess, flush with the face of the knee, and pivoted by one end upon the knee, and means for swinging the free end of said bar forward, at will.

4. In combination with the block and knee of a sawmill carriage, a resilient bar normally disposed inwardly of the face of said knee, and contacting with the upper surface of said block, and means for projecting said bar forwardly from its normal position, over the surface of the block, to sweep dbris therefrom adjacent the knee.

5. In combination with the block and lmee of a sawmill carriage, a transverse bar disposed normally inwardly of the face of the knee and contacting with the surface of said block, means for pivotally supporting said bar by one end from the knee, and means likewise supported from the knee for swinging said bar at will over the surface of the block.

6. The combination of claim 5, the barswinging means comprising a cylinder and piston, a supply means for fluid under pressure connecting to the cylinder, said cylinde1 being mounted on the knee to oscillate, an arm operatively connected to the bar, and pivotally mounted on the knee, and said piston being directly connected to said arm.

7. In combination with the block and knee of a sawmill carriage, a pair of bracket arms spaced at one side of the knee, a bar pivoted in one of said brackets, and normally extending transversely of and resting upon the surface of the block, the knee being recessed to receive said arm, a cylinder pivotally supported in the other bracket, a piston movable therein, a controllable fluid pressure connection to said cylinder, and a piston rod guided in said cylinder and connecting to said arm.

Signed in King County, at Snoqualmie Falls, Washington, this 24th day of April, 1929.

ARTHUR BRATLIE.

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