Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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43~l
SAWMILL WORK FEEDING AND
PRODUCT HANDLIN~ APPAR~TUS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a sawmill and is more
particularly concerned with a device for automatically supporting
and feeding a log to the saws of a sawmill.
2. Background of the Invention
In the past, automatic sawmills have been devised which
feed the logs to opposed blades which simultaneously slice boards
from opposite sides of the log as the log is reciprocated in a
suspended condition carried by dogs which hold the logs at opposite
ends. Such prior art machines have also rotated the logs through
90 and, indeed, through 360 so that the boards may be cut from
the logs, as the operator sees fit.
The applicant is aware of the following United States
Patents relating to such prior art machtnes: 3,835,978, 3,747,455,
3,872,758 and 3,889,556.
Furthermore, machines having the same board discharge
assembly, the same saw assembly and the same log lifting and turning
assembly have been used and sold more than one year prior to this
application.
SUMMAR~r OF THE INVENTION
In one broad aspect, the invention pertains to a sawmill
of the type having a frame with a saw means for cutting slabs and
boards from a log as it is reciprocated along a linear path, the
log being suspended by dogs. The improvement includes a pair
of opposed parallel main rails disposed in a common horizonta]
plane and carried ~y the frame, a central monorail disposed
parallel to and carried by the frame above and between the main
rails, and a main carriage having a main plate and wheels mounted
for rotation on the plate, the wheels riding on the rails for
supporting the main carriage for reciprocal movement longitudinally
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long the Erame and for preventing appreciable pivo-ting or
tilting of the plate. An auxiliary carriage has an auxiliary
plate and a pair of wheels rotatably mounted for rotation on the
plate and riding respectively on the rails for supporting an
end portion of the auxiliary plate for movement longitudinally
along the frame. The auxiliary carriage is rearwardly of the
main carriage in the frame, the auxiliary carriage also having
roller means supported by and riding on the monorail and spaced
in a longitudinal direction from the pair of wheels for supporting
another portion of the auxiliary plate. The wheels and the
roller means prevent appreciable pivoting or tilting of the
auxiliary plate. A pair of struts extend downwardly respectively
from the main plate and the auxiliary plate for respectively
supporting the dogs. Control means connected between the main
carriage and the auxiliary carriage provide for progressively
altering the position of such carriages with respect to each
other for moving the dogs into and out of clamping positions with
respect to the ends of a log position between the dogs, and drive
means drive one of the carriages with respect to the frame
whereby the dogs move the log in a linear path past the saw means
for cutting action of the saw means.
More particularly, the present invention provides a
frame structure having opposed horizontal channel members which
confine the longitudinally and transversely spaced wheels of a
main carriage assembly for traveling in a longitudinal direction.
Connected to the carriage assembly is a hydraulic cylinder, the
piston of which is connected to an auxiliary carriage assembly
having a pair of wheels on opposite sides which ride in the
opposed channel members. Rearwardly o~ the opposed wheels of
the auxiliary carriage assembly is a single upstanding central
wheel carried between a pair of upstanding brackets. A pair of
spaced, opposed guide rollers, are received on opposite sides
of the web of an I beam, the rollers riding along a V-shaped
track protruding from the lower surface of the lower flange of
,,, ~t
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the I beam. The main carriage assembly carries a motor which
rotates one of the dogs and the auxiliary carriage assembly
carries the other dog which is freely rotatable.
In the forward position of the machine below the
retracted position of the main carriage assembly is a log lifting
and turning assembly which raises and lowers a log, rotates the
log and lifts one end or the other of the log so as to align one
or both ends of the log for being clamped between the dogs by
actuation of the cylinder. The carriage assembly is moved
longitudinally by means of cables driven from a drum which is
driven by a reversible motor.
When suspended between the dogs and moved forwardly,
the log is carried between opposed circular saws of a saw assembly
which, upon reciprocation of the log, progressively cuts opposite
sides of the log to provide slabs and then boards from the log,
leaving the central cant which is dropped onto a central conveyor.
The slabs and the boards are fed by outer conveyors selectively to
a slab conveyor or to the board conveyor.
Accordingly, the present invention seeks to provide a
sawmill which will receive successive logs, firmly clamp them by
their ends and reciprocate each log along a linear path for
cutting action of a saw or saws.
Other aspects, features and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent from the following description when
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like
characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout
the several views.
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i BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRA~ING .
1.
Il Fig. lA is a side ele~tional ~lew oi a portion o~ ~ .
Ii sawmill constructed in accordance ~ith the pres~nt inveDtion;
' Fig. lB is a ~ide elevational Yiew of another portion o
¦ the sawmill depicted in Fig. lA;
1,
! Fig. 2 is a cro~-sectlonal vie~ t&ken sub~taatlally
¦ along line 2-2 in Fig. lA;
!
Fig. 3 is a cro~s-sectlonal view taken sub3tantially ~O~
¦ line 3-3 in Fig. lB;
1,' .
:
10 , Fig~ 4 is a ~ragmentary ~erspectl~ view o~ the log
receiving and positioning ~ssembly o~ thQ ~awmill deplcted i~ Fig
; lA; .
. Il, .
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I Fig. 5 is a iragmentary top plan view o~ a portion o~
! the assembly depicted ln Fig. 4;
,
Fig. 6 is an e~ploded fragmentary per~pective v~ew o~
j the rail and maln carriage assembly o~ the sawm~ll depicted in
! Fi~. 1 and Figc lB; and
Fig. 7 is a Pragmentary ~er~pective view of the
aux~liary carrlagQ assembly ol' the sawmlll depicted i~ Fig. lA a~c
Fig. lB; and
Fig. 8 is a fragmantary exploded per~ectir~ view of the
O saw assembly.
. .
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED E.~BODIMENT
I . _
¦Re~erring now in detall to the embodiment chosen ior th
purpose o~ illustratlng the present illvention, it being understoo
~hat in its broad aspects, the present inventio~ is not limited t
the exact d~tails herein ~epicted, numeral 10 denote~ g~nerally an
open, elo~ated, rectangular, ma~n ~rame which includeY a pair o~
spac~d, parallel, longltudinally e~tending, "I" beams 11 which
e~tend throughout the length o~ ths machine~ A plurality o~
I longitudinally ~paced~ transversely dlsposed, parallel cross-beam
¦ 13 ~oin the "I" beams 11 to ~or~ a rlgid base. The "I" beams 11
and 13 are mounted with their webs uprlgh$, the "I" beam~ 13 bein
n~rrower than the "I" beams 11 as seen best in Figs . 2 and 3 .
E~tending over and secured to the l'orwardmost tra~svers
j beams 13 are a pair o~ lorlgitud~nally extendlng, opposed,
parallel, support "I" beams 15. The t'I" beams 15 support the log
llfting and turning assembly, seen best in Fig. 4. An "I" beam
, shown .
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in Fig. 3, extends longitudlnally along the centerli~e o~ the
frame, rearwardly of the "I" beams 15.
I ~lounted on the "I" beams`ll are the longitudinally and
i transversely spaced, upstanding, "I" beam struts 20. Opposed
1 pairs of the struts 20 support the transversely extending, upper .
¦I support beams 210 Fillets 22 reinforce the inverted U-shaped
: ~, frames which are formed by the struts 20 and beam 21.
:' I' ' . - . .
il As seen in Figs. 2 and 3 9 the forward group oi upper
I beams 21 are respectively provided with transversely opposed
10 . spaced pairs of longitudinally spaced and aligned downwardly
protruding braces 23, the inner surfaces of which carry a pair o~
Il opposed, parallel, faciDg, longitudinally extending, horizontally
¦l, disposed, channel member tracks ~4 which e~tend from essentially
. ¦I the iront of the machine, rearwardly throughout the length o~ the
i~ frame 10. The inner surfaces of the upper and lower ledges or .
flanges of the opposed tracXs 24 are provlded ~ith angle iroDs
: ~ which form vertic~lly aligned pairs of opposed lnwardly protrudin
¦¦ V-shape~ guides 25.
1~i . . .
¦¦ Extendi~g between the opposed pairs of braces 23 and
20 j secured to the bottoms of beams 21 are cross bars 26, the functio
¦ of which is to carry in a horizontally longitudinally e~$ending
¦I monorail or central track 28 which is an "I" beam with its web
¦I disposed vertically. The upper flange of the "I" beam 28 is
j' secured to the lower central portion of the crossbars 26 so that
¦ the lower flanges of the "I" beam forms laterally e~tendin~
¦, flanges defining an unobstructed track throughout its length from
a position inward1y of the front of frame 10 to the rear end
' portion of the frame 10. Longitudinally spaced, upstandi~g posts
li ,
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!;
. 30, ~hich are
inwardly of the struts 2G, support the outer track 24 as seen in
Fig. lA and Fig. 2.
. Within the forward portion of the main frame 10 is the
hydraulic system including a hydraulic fluid reservoir tank 31, .
, seen in Fig. lA, on which is ~ounted an electric motor M10 which
¦I drives a hydraulic pump 33, the pump 33 taking a suction ~ro~ the
h~draulic reservoir tank 31 through a pipe 33a and delivering
, hydraulic f luid to a pressure control valve 34, the excess
10 j hydraulic fluid being delivered back to ta~k 31 through a return
~ pipe 34a. The various hydraulic lines which are discussed
ll hereina~ter receive fluid from the pump 33 through appropriate
¦I remote control valves (not shown).
As best in seen in Figs. 2, 4 and 5, the ~rame 10
receives therein, rearwardly of the hydraulic system, a log .
Il receivi~g and turning assembly, the ~unction of which is to
¦I receive successive logs L and positicn them in appropriate
¦ positions to be clamped by their ends between a pair o~ dogs 94
: , and 140 so that the lo~ L may, thereafter, be suspended a~d
l~carrled,:therebetween, r~ar~ardly and then ~orwardly ln a
}ongitudinal linear path. This log receiving and- turning assembl~
includes a pair of upstanding longitudinally aligned, centrally
! disposed, guide brackets 35 which are mounted at the center
I portion of a pair of the cross beams 13. A pair of opposed,
i upstanding, Y-shaped, roller supporting, slide plates 36 are
disposed inwardly o~ the inner ~langes o~ the brackets 35, the
slide plates 36 having opposed pairs of vertically disposed
. L-shaped guide members 37 which are secured to the outer surfaces
'i. of the slide plates 36 so that the opposed pair o~ guide members
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37 on each of the slide plates 36 encompass the edge portions of
the inner flanges o~ the associated bracket 35 to permit vertical,
sliding of the slide plate 36 along the length o~ the upstanding ¦
' bracket 35.
I It will be understood that the upper end o~ each
slide plate 36 is bi~urcated, having a pair of diverging legs
which respectively carry~at their outer and upper end portions,
pillow blocks 38 ~hich journal shafts 39 on the end portion~ of
. these legs. The shafts ~39 support a pair o~ longitudinally
extending, transversely spaced, parallel, longitudinally spine~,
rollers 40 which are longer than the average length of a log L an~
are spaced apart by a distance less than the diameter of the
¦, smallest typical log L so as to cradle the log L between the
~i rollers 40 and thereby roll the log L :in one direction or the
other ~hen the rollers 40 are rotated ,simultaneously in one
direction or the other.
I ,
For drivin~ the rollers 40 a hydraulic motor M-l ~ seen
ln Figs. lA, 2 and 4, suppIied with hydraulic iluid from pump 33
through controls ~no$ shown) is carried by a sidewise extendi~g
bracket 41 on a longitudinally extending bar 42 mounted on a
: longer, longitudinally e~tending, bar 43 fi~ed between the slide
¦ plates 36 for movement therewith. This bracket 41 also supports
pair o~ pillow blocks 44 ~hich journal a power transfex sha~t 45,
i the shaft 45 being driven by a sprocket 46 around which a chain 47
Il extends, the chain 47 also extending around a sprocket 48 on the
i motor Ml. Sha~t 45 drives a pair of sprockets 49 which
1 respectively driv~ chains 50 for driving sprockets 51 ~onnec.ted
¦, respectively to the sha~ts 39. Thus, rollers 40 are selectively
,~ rotated in one direction or the other, in synchronization, by
_g_ ,
1140~33L
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¦ motor Ml. This causes rotation of log L clockwise or counter
¦ clockwise on rollers 4C).
!
i The rear end portion of the bar ~2 as seen in Fig. lA
i and 4 is provided with a fixed, inverted, U-shaped, upstanding
~ strap 52, on wpich is mounted a pair of upstanding transversely ` .
¦1 opposed brackets 53, between which are supported a transverse . .
pivot pin 54, the piYot pin 54 receiving a central downwardly
extending mounting bracket 55 mQunted on the lower central portio~
of a central, longitudinally extending, tilt or rocker arm 56.
The ends of the tilt ar~ 56 ar~ provided with upwardly dive~gi~g
flanges 57. Pivo-tally mounted on the rear end of the bar 42 is a
¦ double acting hydraulic cylinder 58 having a piston rod 59, the
end of rod 59 being pivotally connec1ted to one end portion o~ th~
tilt arm 56. By manipulation of the hydraulio fluid to cyli~der
1 58, the tilt arm 56 may be rocked, as desired, so that the
upstanding flanges 57 move upwardly and downwardly between the
¦ rolls 40 for conta-ting the-bottom periphery at one end portion o~
the other of the log L so as to lift, incrementally and
: ¦ selectively, one end portion or the other o~ the log L off o~ the
20 ! rollers 40~ -
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: :It ~ill be understood that an infeed co~veyor C, shown
in broken lines in Fig. 2/ feeds ~uccessive logs L to the rolls 4C
so that a log L is supported in a central position extending
longitudinally along thP centerline of the frame lO, as shown by
broken lines in Figs. lA, 2 and 4. ~einforcing struts 59 arre.st
¦¦ lateral movement of the upstanding guide member 35.
Il . ~
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For raising and lowering the rollers 40, the guideplates
. 36, is provided with a pair of longitudinally aligned, inwardly
protruding, pins 61 which ride upon the upper camming surfaces ofl
a pair of side~ise e~tending lifting levers 62, mounted on t
opposite ends o~ a common longitudinally extending shaft 63, all ,
seen in Fig. 4. The shaft 63 is journallPd by bearings 64 carrieq
i by upstanding plates 65, which, in turn, are mounted upon the
!~ cross beams 13 and one of the longitudinally extending beams 15. ¦
1~ A hydraulic cylinder 66 has a piston rod 67 t the end portion of .
¦ which is pivotally connected to a downwardly extending lever arm
¦ 68 which is fixed to the sha~t 63. The e~tension of the piston
rod 67 will cause rotation o~ the sha~t 63 so that the levers 62
lift the pins 61` and thereby li~t the plates 3~ to raise the
I rollers 40. When the piston rod 67 i6; released or returned, the .
! shaft 63 is rotated SQ as to lower the levers 62 and thereby lowe
, the slide plates 36 and the rollers 40. There~ore, when a log L
received on the rollers 40, the log L may be raised or lowered
by manipulation of hydraulic ~luid to the cylinder 66 throu~h a
¦I control (not sho~n) and the log L may be rotated in one direction
20 li or the other by actuation of~motor Ml. Also lever 56 will li~t
I o~e end or the other of log L.
1, . ~ . .
I Above the log receiving and turning assembly is the
!i log carrYing assembly, the ~unction o~ which is to support dogs 9
i and 140 for clamping the log L ior movement in a longitudinal pathl
¦l and for rotation through 90 so that the outer portions o~ the lo~
L can be progressively cut by the saw assembly. The log carl~ying¦
¦ assembly includes a main carriage assembly, denoted generally by
,, the numeral 70. This main carriage assembly includes a ~lat
¦ rectangular, horizontally disposed, carriage plate 71 provided at
i, both ends with parallel,- transversely extendl~g sha~ts 69, the enc
ij . .
ii
.
31
.1', . .
portions o~ which protrude beyond the side edges of the plate 710
The shafts 69 are secured, as by ~elding, to the ends of the plat~
71 and are, therefore, *irmly affixed thereto. The end portion o
. the shafts 69 carry respectively the ~vur trans~ersely and
longitudinally spaced circumferenctially grooved wheels 73, each
of which has a periphery with a V-shaped groove 74 therein. The
forwardmost pair o~ wheels 73 have a common transverse a~is an~.
the rear pair of wheels 73 have another common transverse a~is~
Il Furthermore, the shafts 72 are parallel to each other, genérally .
10 li in the horizontal-plane ~f plate 71.
Il . .
¦ A pair of wheels 73 on one side of the main carriage
¦1 assembly 70 is received in one of the tracks 24 while the other
¦I pair of wheels 73 on the other side thereof are received in the
other pair of tracks 24~ As pointed out above the guides 25 are
vertically aligned and the distance between the apexes o~ these
vertically aligned guides 25 is slightly greater than the minimum
: ¦ diameter of the grooves o~ ~he wheels There~ore, the guides 25
: ! receive the upper and lower peripherles of wheels 73 and arrest
any appreciable lateral movement o~ the wheel~ 73 while permittin
20 I free rotation the~eof as the carriage assembly 70 moves along a
longitudinal path de~ined by the opposed channel shaped tracks
24.
On the upper surface of the plate 71 are a pair o~
Il upstanding, longitudinally aligned, spaced, parallel,
¦ complimentary cable receiving brackets 75 which respectively
li receive eye bolts 76~ The bolts 76 are e~ternally threaded and
jl have he~agonal heads. Each bolt is provided with a pair o~.loc~
¦I nuts 77 which are on opposite sides o~ the plate of its bracXet 7
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lL40431
through which the bolt e~tends. Thus, the position of the bolt 7
may be altered incremently, as desired~ The outer end of each
bolt 76 is provided with an eyelet 78 which receives, looped
therein, the end of a cable 79. One portion of cable 7g e~tends
, forwardly, being wrapped around a drum 80 disposed for rotatio~ a~
I the forward poxtion of the machine, as shown in Fig. lA~. The drum
80 is carried for rotation on and with a shaft 81 journalled by .
pillow blocks 82 on an upstanding mount 83. A hydraulic motor M2
selectively rotates in one direction or the other a sha~t 84 whic~
10 ' carries a sprocket 85 for driving a continuously chain 86 looped
~around a sprocket 87 on the shaft 81. Thus the motor M2 controls
the rotation of drum 80 to thereby control the take up or pay out
o~ the cable 79- The other end of the cable 79 e~tends over ~ram
10 rearwardly and loops around a sheave 90 carried by a shaft 91,
Il ~ournalled on pillow blocks 92 which, in turn, are mounted on a
¦~ mounting block 93 at the rear end portion of the frame 10. The
. ¦I cable 79, thence, passes forwardly to be received by the eyelet 7
: i of the rear bolt 77. By supplying hyclraulic fluid from pump M10
i to the motor M2 through a control valve (not shown)g the ~ain
~0 I carriage assembly 70 will be caused to traverse the length o~ $he
tracks 24 in a linear path.
I . .
~ ounted by means of bolts (not shown) to the bottom
suriace of the plate 71 is a flat rectangular base ~00 best seen
¦¦ in Figo 6, the base 90 having depending ~rom the central portion
li thereof, a flat, generally triangular, dog supporting arm 91~ Th
¦' lower end portion of the dog supporting arm 91 1s provided with a
bearing housing 92 within whlch are the bearings ~not shown~ whic~
, support, for rotation, a lon`gitudinally e~tending shaft 93 which
', protrudes forwardly and rearwardly f rom the ends o~ housing 92 .
30 , The rear end portion of the shaft 93 carxies a cylindrical dog 94
I .
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119L0~31 ~ ~
!
which is approximately the same diameter as that o~ diameter of
~the housing 92, the dog 94 having a flat radial ~ace provided ~ith
~forwardly extending and clrcum~erentially spaced prongs or teeth
.95 which engage and protrude into the central portion of one end
of the log L when the log L ;s appropriately carried by the lo~
carrying assembly. An arm 96, which protrudes ~rom the shait 93 .
radially through a radial slot 97 in housing 92, limits the `
rotation of the shaft 93 to 90.
The ~orward end portion of the shaft 93.is provided with
a sprocket 98 around which passes a continuous chain 9~. The
other end of the chain 99 passes around a sprocket 100 carried on
the end o~ a shait o~ a hydraulic motor ~3 ~hich, in turn~ is
mounted on downwardly protruding bracket 101 which is mounted to
¦the bottom surface o~ the base 90, forwardly oi the arm 91~ Thus~
through manipulation of a control (not sho~n), the hydraulic ~luid
~rom pump M10 to the motor M3, will selectively rotate dog ~4
between a 0 position and a 90 rotated position ~or rotati~g log
L ~rom an original supported position to a rotated position,
. . .
As best seen in Fig. 6, the rear transverse sha~t 72 o~
the main carriage assembly 70 is provided with a pair of
rearwardly e~tending brackets 110 having a transver~e pin which
pivotally carries one end of a central, axially e~tending, double
acting hydraulic cylinder 112, the piston rod 113 of which is
. threadedly received by its outer end in an eye link 114, the link
114 being pivotally retained by a transverse pivot pin 115 carried
by a pair o~ forwardly extending brackets 116. The brackets 116
Ilare mounted on the central portion o~ a transverse wheel sha~t
1!117, the rear periphery o~ which is ~ixed to the ~orward e~d of a
I , I
3~ ~
;carriage plate 118 of the rear or auxiliary carriage assembly 119
seen in Fig. 7. The ~-arriage plate 118 is a ~lat horizontally
disposed, essentially square or rectangular member having a pair
of upstanding, opposed, transversely aligned, suspension brackets
120 the upper end portions of which respectively carry spaced~
opposed, inwardly protruding, stub shaf ts 121 which~ in turn,
respectively carry upper rollers 122. Rollers 122 are spaced ~rom
each other and rotate about a common transverse axis so that the
.rollers 122 are adapted to ride upon the upper sur~ace o~ the
lower hori~ontal flange of the monorail 'II" beam 28. The lower
sur~ace o~ this lower flange of the "I" beam 28 is proYided with
a longitudinally extending angle iron ~orming a "V" guide member
123, the flanges of which converge downwardly, as shown in Figs~ 2 .
and 7~
Below the rollers 122 is a transverse bolt 125 ha~ing an .
external nut 126 thereon? the bolt 125 passing through
tran~versely aligned holes in the brackets 120 so as to support
ior rotation, th~rebetween, a~roller 127 which has a central
;V-shaped groove 128. The upper periphery of the V-shaped grooYe
,128 recelves the guide meDber 123 so that any apprec~able lateral
;~ovement o~ the rear or au~iliary carriage 119 is precluded.
Through manipulation of the fluid ~rom motor M10 through co~trols .
(not shown) to hydraulic cylinder 112, the au~iliary carriage 119
may be drawn toward or pushed away from the main sarriage 70 by
e~tension and retraction of piston rod 113.
The shaft 117 is provided with wheels 130 which are
identical to the wheels 73 and include the central V-shaped groove
131. This groove 131 is received on the guides 25 as the wheels
130 ride in the rails 24. Thus, the rear or auxiliary carriage
i ' '.
, . -15- .
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.~'
assembly 119 is totally suspended by the overhead monorail 28 and
by the side rails 24.
.
Mounted by bolts 135 to the bottom sur~ace oP the plate
118 is a flat rectangular or square mounting plate 136
A generally triangular dog carrying arm 137 is mounted in a
'perpendicular or vertical position by its upper end t~ the central
,portion o~ the base 136 and protrudes or depends downwardly,
there~rom- The lower end of arm 137 carries a cylindrical bearing
housi~g 138 ~ithin which is journalled, by bearings (not shown) a
0 !~central longitudinally e~tending shaft 139, the a~is o~ ~hich is
¦longitudinally aligned with the a~is of shaft 93. The ~ront end
portion of this shaft 139 carries the disc shaped dog 140, having
, a flat radial face and forwardly protruding circumferentially
spaced teeth 141~ The disc 140 is freely rotatable. The dog ox
Idisc 140 is.rearwardly of the wheels 130 and ~oxwardly of the
¦Iwheel 127 and the rollers 122. As such, a ma~or portion o~ its
¦,weight is suspended from the monorail 28 by rollers 22 and a minor
Iportion ~rom the eide rails 24 by the wheels 130.
I
I It will be see~ that the axes o~ piston rod 113 and
,shaft 117 are in the commo~ plane o~ the plates 71 and 118 which
is below the axis oi~ wheels 122. The force, therefore, o~ piston
rod 113 is at about the centroid o~ rotation with respect to the
axls o~ rollers 122. Also, when the auxiliary carriage 11~ is
~'moved ~orwardly for the teeth 141 o~ the rear dog 140 to engage
.and project into the reaI end of the log L J the pulling actio~ of
the piston rod ll3 is transversely distributed evenly between the
lower peripheries o~ the wheels 130 and is also dlstributed ~o the
;rollers 122.
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When the rear dog 140 engages log L, it tends to pivot
the plate 118 about the pivot pin 115 so that the outer periphery
of the roller 127 along its central groove 128 engages the
surfaces o~ the guide 123 for centering the auxiliary assembly 119
so that it may be more readily pulled by the piston rod 1130
.'
When the roller or wheel 127 becomes worn; it can be
readily replaced without the necessity of disassembling the other
elements of the sawmill. The wheel 127 may be replaced by
'iremoving the nut 126, removing the bolt or pin 125 and sliding the
o 'pin out. Roller 127 normally carrles no weight, whatsoever, and
can be replaced guite readily. Furthermore, the rollers 122 are
i~also readily replaceable and can be removed without disassembly of
¦~other parts of the structure. Therefore, when such rollers 122
! have worn they can be readily replaced by an unskilled laborerO
The hydraulic lines 142 which supply ~luid to the motor
M3 and the hydraulic lines 143 which supply hydraulic ~luid to
cylinder 112 are carried by an L-shaped bracket 144 carried by the
¦main carrîage assembly 70, see~ in Fig. 2~ ~o~es 143 connect to
l~lpipes 145, the ends of which are ~ixed to and carried by a pivot
j,pin 146 supported by pillow bloc~s 147 on bracket 1~4, outwardl~
¦iad~acent braces 23~ In Fig. lA it is seen that the pipes
pivotally connect through a pivotal connector 148 to pipes 149
'extend in cantilever fashion ~rom a pivot 141 on ~rame 10. As
best seen in Figso lB, 3 and 8, rearwardly of the log receiving
and turning assembly, there is a saw assemb~y having a saw ~ox
,~hich includes a pair of spaced opposed laterally movable circular
'saw blades 150 mounted on the inner ~nd portions of a palr o~
spaced, opposed, transversely aligned saw sha~ts 151. These sa~
,shafts 151 are respectively journalled by pillow blocks 152 which,
in turn, are mounted on the rear portions o~ the opposed
Il .
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1' .
¦,upstanding longitudinal walls 161 o~ the opposed pair of laterally
movable saw positioni~g frames, denoted generally by the numeral
160. These frames 160 include these spaced, parallel upstanding
longitudinaly walls 161, the ends of which are joined by the
l.transverse rear end ~all 162 and the ~ront end wall 163. The
¦llower edge portions of the end walls 162 and 163 are provided ~ith
¦IL-shaped slide brackets 164 and 165 which ride on a pair o~ .
transversely extending flat rectangular spaced parallel slide bars
166 and 167, respectively. Brackets, such as brackets 168 and
169, protrude forwardly and downwardly from the iront e~ds 163 and
~rom the rear ends 162, respectively, and each bracket carries an
internally threaded sleeves, such as sleeves 170 and 171. The
Isleeves 170 which are connected to the brackets 168 have le~t hand
¦threads and the.sleeves 171 have a right hand thread. The ~orward
. ¦sleeves 170 and 171 are received on a common forward transverse
shaft 173 which is journalled by a central bear~ng 174 and a paix
of end pillow blocks 175 and 1760 The portion o~ the shaft 173
between bearing 174 and pillow block 175 is proYided with a lsft
Ihand thread to receive the left hand threaded sleeve 170 while the
¦portion o~ the shaft l73 which is between the bearing 174 and the
pillow block 176 is provided with a right hand thread to receive .
the sleeve 171. The shaft 173 extends éxternally o~ the pillow
block 176 and is provided with a sprocket 17~, around which
extends a continuous chain 178 which is drlven by a sprocket (not
¦shown) on the end of a shaft 1800 Sha~t 180 receives the other
two sleeves 170 and 171 and are threaded in the manner that shaft
173 is thre~ded. Thus, the shafts 173 and 180 rotate in
,synchronization a~d, upon rotation o~ the sha~t in one direction,
Ithe frames 160 will be moved simultaneously out~ardly~ away from
¦leach other, and, when the shafts 173 and 180 are rotated in the .
,lopposite direction, the ~rames 160 will be moved toward each
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other. A motor bl4 drives a sprocket 181 which in turn drives a
continuous chain 182 which extends around and dr:Lves a sprocket
183 o~ the end of the shaf t 180 . This mo*or ~l4 :Ls also a ¦
hydraulic motor which can be selectiYely dr.iven in one di rect~on
OF the other by fluld from pump 33 through appropriate hydraulic
li~es ~not shown)O
The bearlng 174 ~nd the plllow blocks 175 and 17B a~e
rnounted on ~ ~ront wall 185 o~ a rectangular upstanding subirame,
~,d~noted generally by the num~ral lB6. Th~ slld~ bars 166 are
10 , mounted above the pillow bloclcl3 1?5, 176 and the bearing 1i4 o~
, the wall 185, as seen in Fig. 8. The rear wall 187 which is
parallel to aDd spaced from the ~ront wall 185 carried the plllow
blocks, such as pillow block 188 which support the rear transverse
shaft 180. The sllde bar 17~ is mounted above the pillow blocks
such as pillow block 188.
, The saw shafts 151 are respectively provided with
isheeves 190 which receive drive belts 191 ~rom sheeves (not ~hown~
! on the shafts o~ motors MS. The motors, in turn, are mounted on
Imotor mourlting brackets 192 on the r~spective outer ~ide walls 161
20 ¦OI the fra~es 160~, Thus, the motors M5 r~de with the saws 150 as
¦~hey ~re carrled laterally inwardly and outwardly by the ~rames
~160. The subfram~ 186 is anchored to.the cros~ beams 13.
t'
ii Pivotally ~ounted on the sa~ sub~rame 186 at the ~orward
portion theroo~ ~ s an L-shaped belt crank 198, one arm o~ which is
plvotally ~ounted by a transversel~ extending pivot pin 199 on the
stationary sa~ sub~rame 186. The outer end portion oP the plvoted
arm of the belt crank 198 is ~rovided with an angularlY disposed
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L31
extension 204 which is pivotally connected to the distal end of a
piston rod 203 of a double acti~g hydraulic cylinder 200, the
cylinder 200 being pivotally connected by a pivot pin 202 carried
by a bracket on the "I" beam 16. The other end o~ the belt crank
198 is provided with rollers 205 which are adapted to urge th~ log
upwardly when the hydraulic cylinder 200 is actuated~ This tends .
to disengage the log L from the saws 150.
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'¦ Rearwardly o~ the rollers 205 is a continuous drag c~ai~
~¦supported by a pair o~ longitudinally aligned sprockets 207 and .
10ll208. These sproc~ets 207 and 208 are respectively carrie~ by
¦l'transverse shafts 210 and 211 which are supported by pillow blocks
~such as pillow block 212 on the sa~ subframe 186. The rear
,ltransverse shaft 211 is driven, as will be e~plained hereinaPter~ .
The chain 206 is provided with outwardly protruding teeth 213 see~
j'lin Fig. lB. These teeth 213 engage the cant a~d ~eed it '
I,rearwardly when the cant is dropped or released by the opposed
¦I,dogs 94 and 140.
I!
jI Aligned rearwardly o~ and respectively longitudlnally .
llwith tbe saws 150 on the frames 160 are dlvider guards 215 which
20 ~maintain in a separa$ed condition, the portions ~ the log L which
'~are cut from the log L to iorm -the slabs or boards. Rear~ardly of
~the divi.der guards 215 are the guard rails 216 which function to
confine therebetween the cant in its travel, rearwardly. These
I,guard rails 216 are disposed on opposite sides o~ the drag c~ain
i206 and extend rearwardly therefrom, being supported by hinges 217
at their forward ends, th~ hinges 217 baing pivotal about vertical
'axes and being connected to upright members (not shown). The r~ar
.portions of the guard rails 216 are biased inwardly by springs on
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~4~)431
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lugs 218. These lugs 218, in turn, are supported by straps, such
as strap 219, from the rear end portion of rail 24.
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For delivering the sl~bs and the ~oards which are cut by
the saws lS0 from the opposite~sides of the log L, there is
provide~ a conveyor assembly having a pair of opposed, parallel,
spaced, continuous conveyors, denoted generally by the numeral
220. The function of these conveyors 220 is to ieed the boards
onto the top taXe off conveyor 221 and the slabs to the bottom
conveyor 222, selectively. For achieYing this, the frame 223 oi
` 10 the conveyor assembly is hingedly mounted'for pivoting about a
transverse shaft 224 which is supported by pillow blocks 225 and
standards, such as standard 226, extending upwardly from a cross
bar 13. A continuous chain 227 from motor M6 drives the sha~t 224
~or driving the rollers, such as roller 230, for driving the
~spaced belts 231 which.receive thc sla.bs and the boards on both
sides o~ the ,rails 216. The formal portions of belts 231 pass
around idler rollers, such as idler roller 232 and 233. The
,~r~me, such as frame 223, is movable arcuately by a pist~n 234 and
'piston rod 235 which e~end up from the base of the frame 10. The
, 20 upper end o~ the piston rod 235 is connected to a cross bar 236
which supports both frames, such as ~rame 223~ ~or simultaneous
movement in an arcuate path upwardly and downwardly. Whe~ the
.plston 235 is retracted, the di~charge end o~ the conveyors 220
'are aligned with the conveyor 222 for discharging the slabs .
thereon~ When the conveyors 220 are raised, however, they
discharge to the conveyor 221~ Furthermore, there is a central
drag chain 240 which extends around the shaft 224 and is drive~
thereby which advances tbe cant, receiving it from the drag chain
206 with which the chain 240 is aligned along the centerline o~
30 the machine. ' .
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As best seen in Fig. 3, outward of the saws 150,
respectively~ and carried by the ~rames 160, respectively, are the¦
board discharge conveyors den~ted generally by the numerals ~50.
These discharge conveyors include a continuous belt 251 which pass~
over slide plates 252 and around rollers 253. A motor M-7 drives
'a belt 25~, seen in Fig~ lB which, i~ turn, drives a drive wheel .
¦i255 which rotates the rear opposed pair of rollers 253, riding on
! the inside periph~ry o~ one o~ the rollers 253. This advances the
¦!upper ~light of the belts 250 rear~ardly ~or delivering the slabs.
10 Ijfrom the vicinity of the saw 150 to the discharge conveyors
220. Immediately a~ter the slabs and/or boards are severed from
Illthe log L, they ~all onto the conve~ors 250, and are ~ed
¦Irearwardly thereon onto the conveyors 220. The conveyors 220 are
¦~raised or lowered s~lectively, as described above for the
discharge o~ the slabs or the lumber, as the case may be. The
cant is dropped onto the drag chain 206 and thence is ~ed onto .
~i~drag chain 2~0 for discharge as still an additional board onto
conveyor Z21 by the chain 240.
i
¦l It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many
¦!variations may be ma~e in the embodiment here chosen ~or the
~¦purpose of illustrating the preeent invention, without departing
from the scope thereo~ as defined by the appended claims.
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