US2781802A

US2781802A - Means for incising wooden poles and the like

Info

Publication number: US2781802A
Application number: US370401A
Authority: US
Inventors: Harry A Pence
Original assignee: JH Baxter and Co
Current assignee: JH Baxter and Co
Priority date: 1953-07-27
Filing date: 1953-07-27
Publication date: 1957-02-19
Anticipated expiration: 1974-02-19

Description

Feb. 19, 1957 H. A. FENCE 2,781,802

MEANS FOR mcxsmc WOODEN POLES AND THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

HARRY A. PENCE ATTORNEY Feb. 19, 1957 H. A. PENCE 2,781,802

MEANS FOR INCISING WOODEN POLES AND THE LIKE Filed July 2'7, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. HARRY A. PENCE ATTORNEY Feb. 19, 1957 H. A. FENCE MEANS FOR INCISING WOODEN PQLES AND THE LIKE Filed July 27. 19 53 3 Shets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. HARRY A. PENOE ATTORNEY MEANS FOR INCISING WOODEN POLES AND THE LIKE Harry A. Pence, Oakland, Calif., assignor to J. H. Baxter & Co., San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of California Application July 27, 1953, Serial No. 370,401

3 Claims. (Cl. 144-2) This invention relates in general to the incising of wood, or the making of slit-like holes in the surface of wood, and relates particularly to the incising of Wooden poles.

As is well known, when timbers and poles are required to be treated with a wood preservative, the incising of the surface enables a more uniform penetration of the preservative to be obtained. However, I have also found that the incising of poles, provided this is done before the seasoning of the wood takes place, has another very important advantage in that the incising of the surface results in a more uniform drying of the wood, permits faster seasoning, and reduces the number and size of the checks in the wood caused by the seasoning.

During the ordinary seasoning process the escaping moisture in the wood sets up internal stresses, and, par

ticularly when the drying is not uniform, these internal stresses may result in deep seasoning checks which, in the ease of wooden poles, may render the same unfit for the particular use for which they are intended. The incising of the surface of the pole, by facilitating the escape of moisture from the wood, when the incising is performed uniformly over the surface, promotes more uniform drying and enables the seasoning process to take place more quickly with fewer and smaller seasoning checks. I have observed this to be true especially with poles of relatively small diameter and thus with long poles of the type which are commonly used for supporting electric power lines,

etc.

An object of the present invention is to provide improved method and means for satisfactorily incising long poles throughout their entire length.

Since I have also discovered that the longer the delay which occurs between the initial debarking or peeling of the poles and the incising of the peeled surface, the greater will be the amount of checking produced by the drying or seasoning, another and particular object of the invention is to provide practical method and means for incising a pole immediately with the debarking or peeling.

A related object of the invention is to provide improved means whereby the debarking or peeling and the incising can be performed simultaneously in the same operation for the entire length of the pole.

Inasmuch as ordinary wooden poles of any considerable length :are seldom absolutely straight, the incising of such poles uniformly throughout their entire length would present difficulty if the pole were required to be rotated on a fixed axis during the incising operation. Another obiect of this invention accordingly is to provide an incising device in which poles can be handled with the same facility regardless of whether they are absolutely straight or not.

A further object of the invention is to provide an incising device having an improved incising wheel particularly adapted for the incising of long poles.

The manner in which I attain these objects and other incidental advantages, and the construction and operation of the special means which I employ in the carrying nited States Patent out of my invention and method, will be briefly described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a more or less diagrammatic side elevation showing a pole in the process of being peeled and incised in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of the pole and apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional elevation taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 but drawn to a larger scale;

. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary end elevation, drawn to a still larger scale, of the special incisor wheel;

Fig. 5 is a corresponding fragmentary side elevation of the incisor wheel;

Fig. 6 is a section through the surface of the incisor wheel taken on line 6--6 of Fig. 4, drawn to a larger scale, and showing the incisor tooth bar;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary elevation and cross section through the tooth bar on line 77 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary elevation of the incised pole.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the pole P, which is illustrated as being treated in accordance with this invention, is supported partly on a pair of rotating wheels 10 and 11 (Fig. 3) during the entire treating operation. Wheel 10 is the incisor wheel and wheel 11 is designated as a friction drive wheel. Both wheels are of substantially the same diameter. The axes of the wheels are parallel, both wheels preferably extend in the same vertical plane, and both are rotated in the same direction at the same speed. Since the pole P is supported in part on these wheels and rests on these wheels during the treatment, the rotation of the wheels 10 and 11 produces rotation of the pole, the direction of rotation of the wheels and pole beinlg indicated by the arrows in Fig. 3.

The wheels and 10 and 11 are suitably journaled in a carriage 12, which, as indicated in Fig. 3, is in turn pivotally mounted at 13 on a suitable stationary base 14. An arm 15, rigidly extending from the carriage 12, is connected with a hydraulic piston and cylinder, indicated in general by the reference character 16 in Fig. 3. As apparent, this mounting support for the wheels 10 and 11 enables the axes of the wheels to be moved into a desired position of slight angularity with respect to the axis of the pole P. As a result of such angularity of the wheels 10 and 11 with respect to the pole, the rotation of the wheels causes longitudinal travel of the pole P as well as rotation of the pole, the longitudinal travel being from left to right as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2. Obviously varying the degree of angularity of the axes of the wheels 10 and 1.1 with respect to the axis of the pole, will, within certain limits, vary the rate of longitudinal travel of the pole and the incising pattern produced on the pole by the incising wheel.

The wheels 10 and 11 are driven in unison by suitable means, for example by a worm and gears indicated in broken lines in Fig. 3, the worm shaft being connected by suitable universal joints and linkage to a power driven shaft (not shown). The periphery of the friction drive wheel 11 is covered with a rubber tire or other surfacing enabling the wheel to maintain a frictional grip on the pole P as long as the pole rests on the wheel 11. The periphery of the incisor wheel 10 carries incising teeth 17 to be described more fully later.

A pair of cutter-head supporting arms 20 and 21 (Fig. 2), pivotally mounted on a machine frame (not shown) which in turn is located in a control shed 22, and which arms can be raised or lowered by suitable means (not shown), carry rotary cutters at their outer ends. These

arms

20 and 21 are of proper length to enable the rotary cutters to ride on the pole when the pole is supported on the wheels 10 and 11, the arms and their cutters being capable of bearing down on the pole due to their weight and to the pull of springs, one of which is indicated at 27 in Fig. 3.

The pole P when it i to be treated is moved in on a pair of trams or trucks, the front one of which is shown at 13 in Figs. 1 and 2. The

arms

20 and 21 are raised and the pole is then slid along over the front truck 18 until its forward end rests on the wheels and 11. The

arms

20 and 21 are then lowered until their cutters rest on the pole and the treating operation starts at this Poin. The pole P continues to be supported partly on the wheels 10 and 11 and partly on the truck 18 until it moves sufiiciently forward, or to the right as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, so that the longitudinal center of the pole passes the wheels 10 and 11 and the rear end of the pole leaves the truck 18. Thereupon the front end of the pole is caused to rest on the first truck 19 of a second pair of trucks, and the second pair of trucks will remove the pole when the treatment has been completed. With this arrangement the pole, during the entire treating operation, will always be resting partly on one truck and partly on the Wheels 10 and 11. In other words, during the entire treatment the pole will be supported partly by the wheels 10 and 11 and thus will always be in contact with these wheels. Consequently even if the pole should not be absolutely straight, which is often the case with long poles, the pole P will never be out of contact with the wheels 10 and 11 during the treating operation. The

arms

20 and 21, with their cutters, aid in holding the pole down firmly in constant contact with the wheels 10 and 11. If any whipping about occurs at any portion of the pole during its rotation, as a result of the fact that the pole is not entirely straight, such whipping will consequently be limited to that portion of the pole which is not resting either on the wheels 10 and 11 or on a supporting truck, This is an important feature in the carrying out of my invention.

The rotary cutters carried by the

arms

20 and 21 are driven separately and rapidly by belt connections with driving mechanism (not shown) located in the control shed 22. The first arm 20 is so positioned that the rotary cutter which it carries will contact the pole in advance of the contact of the pole with the incisor wheel 10. Thus, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, with the longitudinal travel of the pole from left to right, the rotary cutter on the arm 20 is positioned a short distance to the left of he incisor wheel 10. The second arm 21 is so positioned that its rotary cutter will engage the pole beyond the incisor wheel 10, and thus this arm and cutter head are both positioned a short distance to the right of the incisor wheel 10 in Figs. 1 and 2. The rotary cutter on arm 20 is adapted to perform a debarking or high speed peeling operation in the customary manner. The second rotary cutter, mounted on arm 21, is designed to perform a cleaning or smoothing operation on the treated surface of the pole.

Due to the arrangement of the rotary cutters and incisor wheel the surface of the pole is first subjected to the debarking or peeling action of the first rotary cutter, then the peeled surface is immediately contacted by the incisor wheel 10, the weight of the pole bearing on the incisor wheel causing the incising teeth of the wheel to enter the peeled surface and perform the incising operation; and finally any remaining skin or bark on the pole and any surface roughness, including that which may result from the incising, is removed by the action of the second rotary cutter on the arm 21. This triple action takes place almost simultaneously. Since the pole is moved longitudinally as well as being rotated, the debarking or peeling, the incising, and the cleaning or smoothing of the surface take place in a spiral path. The pitch of this spiral path depend upon the speed of the longitudinal travel of the pole and the speed of longitudinal travel in turn is governed by the angularity of the axes of the wheels 10 and 11 with respect to the longitudinal line of travel of the pole or axis of the pole.

As is well known, the seasoning or loss of moisture from a pole is greatly accelerated immediately upon the debarking or peeling of the pole. I have found that the incising of the peeled surface further accelerates the rate at which the seasoning takes place. My only explanation for this fact is that the holes or incisions in the pole, made by the incising teeth, provide moisture outlets and expose inner surfaces from which the inner moisture passes more readily and rapidly. Since the preventing of the setting up of excessive internal stresses in the wood by the escaping moisture during the seasoning reduces the number and size of the checks produced by the seasoning, and since the loss of moisture, under ordinary conditions, begins rapidly upon the peeling of the bark from the pole, and the escape of the moisture is facilitated by the incising of the pole, I have discovered that it is most important in the attainment of the optimum seasoning to incise the pole surface immediately upon the peeling of the same. The subsequent cleaning and smoothing of the incised surface also aids in the escape of surface moisture. Thus in the apparatus illustrated and described, the peeling, incising, and final cleaning of the surface take place almost simultaneously. This I consider to be a novel and important feature of my invention.

While various shapes and arrangements of the incising teeth on the periphery of the incisor Wheel 10 may be employed in my device and in the carrying out of my invention, the preferred form of the incising surface of the wheel which I employ is illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7. The incising teeth 17 are arranged in spaced rows on the periphery of the incisor wheel 10, these rows being parallel to the wheel axle. The teeth of each row are spaced laterally from each other, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and are integrally formed on a tooth bar 23 (Fig. 6) which is anchored in a groove in the wheel periphery so that the outer surface of the bar 23 will be substantially flush with the wheel periphery. The teeth are preferably so arranged in the successive rows that they will also be staggered respectively as shown in Fig. 5.

The periphery of the incisor wheel 10 is formed with a ridge 24 midway between each pair of rows of teeth, the ridges extending parallel to the rows. The ridges 24 extend out a shorter radial distance from the rest of the wheel periphery than the incising teeth, and the top or outer face of each ridge is substantially flat. Thus the ridges 24 contact the surface of the pole during the incising operation without deforming or marring the pole surface and, as evident, these ridges limit the extent to which the incising teeth 17 can penetrate into the pole.

The incising teeth 17, in the preferred form illustrated, have forward faces 26 (Figs. 6 and 7), facing the direction of the rotation of the wheel, rear faces 25, and parallel vertical sides. The forward and rear faces meet at the tip in a slightly rounded cutting edge. The forward faces have a convex surface and the rear faces have a concave surface, as shown. Although other shapes of teeth may be employed, as previously mentioned, nevertheless I have found that incising teeth of this special formation are particularly suitable for making incising slits in the rotating pole without excessive distortion of the outer surface surrounding the slits. I have also found that the teeth when shaped in this particular manner function very satisfactorily even if the incisor wheel, and with it the pole, are rotated at a fairly rapid rate of speed, the convex forward faces of the teeth facilitating the entry of the teeth into the rotating pole and the concave rear faces of the teeth facilitating the withdrawal of the teeth without excessive pulling or grabbing action.

Various modifications might be made in the apparatus which I have'illustrated and described for the carrying out of my invention, without departing from the prinfil ciple of the invention, and it is not my intention to limit the same except as set forth in the claims.

I claim:

1. In a device for incising a wooden pole, a rotating incisor wheel engaging said pole, parallel spaced rows of incising teeth on the periphery of said incisor wheel, the teeth in each row spaced apart, said rows extending parallel to the axis of said Wheel, ridges on the periphery of said wheel between said rows of incising teeth, the top surfaces of said ridges being substantially flat and located a shorter radial distance from said wheel periphery than the tips of said teeth, the tips of the teeth in each row extending in transverse alignment parallel to the wheel axis, the forward faces of said teeth with respect to the direction of rotation of said wheel being slightly convex, the opposite rear faces of said teeth being slightly concave.

2. In a device for incising a substantially round wooden pole, an incisor wheel and a friction drive wheel spaced from each other, said wheels supporting said pole at all times during the incising operation, the axes of said wheels being parallel and positioned at desired slight angularity with respect to the axis of said pole, means for rotating said wheels in unison, whereby said pole will be rotated and moved longitudinally by said wheels, means located above said wheels bearing down on said pole, whereby said means and the weight of said pole will cause the surface of said pole to be penetrated by the teeth of said incisor wheel as said pole is moved through said device, and means for supporting the ends of said pole successively during the incising operation.

3. In a device of the character described for incising a substantially round wooden pole, an incisor wheel and a friction drive wheel spaced from each other, said wheels supporting said pole at all times during the incising operation, said wheels located in the same plane with their axes, positioned at desired slight angularity with respect to the axis of said pole, means for rotating said wheels at the same speed and in the same direction, whereby said pole will be rotated and moved longitudinally by said wheels, means located above said wheels bearing down on said pole, whereby said means and the weight of said pole will cause the surface of said pole to be penetrated by the teeth of said incisor wheel as said pole is moved through said device, and an adjustable mounting for said wheels enabling the angularity of the axes of said wheels with respect to the axis of said pole to be adjusted to control the longitudinal speed of travel of said pole and the incising pattern on said pole.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,363,593 Hewitt Dec. 28, 1920 1,621,963 Valentine Mar. 22, 1927 1,646,955 Edwards Oct. 25, 1927 2,390,459 Power Dec. 4, 1945 2,412,433 Taylor Dec. 10, 1946 2,540,994 Rogers Feb. 6, 1951 2,563,758 Tinling Aug. 7, 1951 2,581,617 Alfsen Ian. 8, 1952 2,684,089 Graham et a1. July 20, 1954