Log cutting system

Abstract
The present invention discloses a log sawing system comprising multiple cutting blades. The multiple cutting blades are positioned to cut laterally or perpendicular to the centerline of the log which is to be cut. The logs are transported into cutting position using some type of log positioner. The multiple cutting blades are rotatably mounted on an arm which is pivotally mounted on a shaft in groups, being driven by an electrical or like motor, all of which are mounted onto a platform positioned adjacent to the log to be cut. Hydraulic lifters are used to partially rotate the saw blades into the cutting position adjacent the log. Means utilizing a computer and lasers are provided to develop a log cutting solution to best utilize the logs.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates generally to log cutting systems and, more particularly, is concerned with a multi-blade log cutting system.




2. Description of the Prior Art




Log sawing systems have been described in the prior art. However, none of the prior art devices disclose the unique features of the present invention. It is felt that an efficient log sawing system utilizing multi-cutting blades would be useful and is needed.




In U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,755, dated Oct. 3, 1978, Hasenwinkle and Wislocker described a log sawing and transport system for relatively small logs which has an infeed and loading station where logs are positioned in a centering device for aligning the logs with respect to the saws. Once the log is properly aligned for axial movement, a set of end dogs is actuated to hold the log in its prealigned position for transport. The dogs are mounted within axially movable carriage units that travel the length of the system serving to transport the log axially in a straight line. At the sawing station a plurality of angularly arranged saws are disposed to divide the traveling log into a plurality of elongated sector-shaped pieces. At least one selected saw may be adjustable with respect to the other saws in order to set angles for the sector-shaped pieces; an outfeed device collects the elongated sector-shaped pieces and transports them out of the system.




In U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,999, dated Jul. 14, 1982, Conner and Conner described an upright rectangular frame that longitudinally journals an axle supporting a plurality of spaced-apart circular saws. The axle is V-belt driven by an engine at one end of the frame. A feed conveyor, disposed laterally of the frame, moves logs deposited thereon toward the saws in response to a manually operated lever moving an idler pulley and tightening a flat belt entrained around a feed conveyor driving pulley and frictionally engaging a pulley on the axle. The sawed logs are moved out of the frame by a belt conveyor.




In U.S. Pat. No. 4,005,625, dated Feb. 1, 1977, Brochu and Brochu described a tree slasher in which the entire trunk of a tree may be simultaneously cut into a plurality of selected lengths to meet subsequent processing requirements. The slasher, while large is mobile and may, if desired, be taken to the vicinity of the tree-cutting areas thereby to minimize the distances the tree trunks must be hauled prior to cutting.




While these log cutting systems may be suitable for the purposes for which they were designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention, as hereinafter described.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The present invention discloses a log sawing system comprising multiple cutting blades. The multiple cutting blades are positioned to cut laterally or perpendicular to the centerline of the log which is to be cut. The logs are transported into cutting position using some type of log positioner. The multiple cutting blades are rotatably mounted on an arm which is pivotally mounted on a shaft in groups, being driven by an electrical or like motor, all of which are mounted onto a platform positioned adjacent to the log to be cut. Hydraulic lifters are used to partially rotate the saw blades into the cutting position adjacent the log. Means utilizing a computer and lasers are provided to develop a log cutting solution to best utilize the logs.




An object of the present invention is to more quickly cut logs into multiple pieces. A further object of the present invention is to make a multiple blade log cutting system economically feasible. A further object of the present invention is to provide a multiple blade log cutting system which makes its cuts perpendicular to the length of the log.




Advantages of the present invention are that it provides a streamlined, compact mechanical line shaft drive system which allows the saw blades to be spaced at about 2 foot (+) or (−) centers so that the center line of the blades are the same. This is important since a 2 foot spacing is the standard cutting length in state of the art log cut-up systems and allows the logs to be cut in one pass without having the log be repositioned to be re-cut on a second pass.




The foregoing and other objects and advantages will appear from the description to follow. In the description reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In the accompanying drawings, like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




In order that the invention may be more fully understood, it will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:





FIG. 1

is a front elevation view of the present invention.





FIG. 2

is a side elevation view of the present invention.





FIG. 3

is a perspective view of an exemplary log positioner portion of the present invention.





FIG. 4

is a side elevation view of the present invention in operative connection with a log positioner.





FIG. 5

is a plan view of the present invention in operative connection with a log positioner.





FIG. 6

is an elevation side view of portions of the present invention taken from FIG.


4


.





FIG. 7

is an enlarged view of portions of the present invention taken from FIG.


6


.





FIG. 8

is an enlarged view of portions of the present invention taken from FIG.


1


.





FIG. 9

is an enlarged view of portions of the present invention taken from FIG.


5


.





FIG. 10

is an elevation view of the saw arm and chain tension adjustment means.





FIG. 11

is a plan view of the saw arm and chain tension adjustment means.











LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS




With regard to reference numerals used, the following numbering is used throughout the drawings.






10


present invention also shown as dirt cover


92








12


frame






14


central frame member






16


end frame member






18


cutting blades






20


rotatable mount






22


blade drive means






24


hydraulic lifters






26


direction arrows






28


log positioner






30


logs






32


lower elevation






34


higher elevation






36


steps






38


log positioner lifting arms






40


top step






42


log roller






44


direction arrow






46


direction arrow






48


drive shaft






50


motor drive means






52


drive belt






54


motor drive pulley






56


drive shaft pulley






60


log positioner actuator arms






62


saw arm






64


laser beams






66


log even end






68


anti-pinch arm






70


log positioner lifter arm shaft






72


conveyor






74


actuator for anti-pinch arm






76


adjustment flange






78


pivot






80


fail-safe stop pin






82


adjustment arm






84


adjustment rod






86


connecting means for adjustment rod






88


mounting means for adjustment rod






90


threaded fasteners






92


dirt cover




DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)




Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views,

FIGS. 1 through 11

illustrate the present invention being a multi-blade log cutting system.




Turning to

FIGS. 1 and 8

, therein is shown a front elevation view of the present invention


10


. Therein is shown the support frame


12


generally having a horizontal central cross member


14


along with a pair of leg-like supports on each end


16


. The central member is approximately 65 feet long which is large enough to accommodate tree-length logs and the end members


16


are about 22 feet high. Also shown therein are the multiple cutting blades


18


being rotatably mounted


20


having rotatable drive means


22


. Also shown therein are hydraulic lifting means


24


, which could use air or fluid for operation, which are used to raise and lower the blade


18


into the proper cutting position. Drive shaft


48


and multiple saw arm


62


are also shown.




Turning to

FIG. 2

, therein is shown a side elevation view of the present invention


10


. Shown is the end frame supports


16


along with the central frame support


14


. The sawblades


18


are shown being partially rotatable about shaft


48


as shown by direction arrow


26


. It can be seen that the blades have rotatable mounting means


20


. A log


30


is shown within the cutting arch of blade


18


.




Turning to

FIG. 3

, therein is shown a side perspective view of a typical exemplary log positioner generally shown at


28


which might be used in conjunction with the present invention which positioner is used to move logs toward the cutting blades. However, the present invention could be used with many different types of log positioners different from that shown here. The log positioner


28


is a device which lifts logs


30


from a lower elevation or infeed


32


to a higher elevation


34


using a series of multiple steps


36


and multiple lifting arms


38


which arms


38


are reciprocated by multiple actuator arms


60


or the like which arms


60


reciprocate arms


38


. Note that at the top step


40


of the log positioner there are multiple rollers


43


located in the bottom of the step


40


which changes the direction of movement of the log from being as shown by direction arrow


44


, i.e., perpendicular to the center line of log


30


to that direction shown by arrow


46


, i.e., parallel to the center line of log


30


. When the log


30


is placed into the top step


40


, the log


30


is nearly in position to be cut by the multiple cutting blades of the present invention.




Turning to

FIG. 4

, therein is shown a side elevation view of the present invention


10


in operative connection with the log positioner


28


. The multiple lifting arms


38


of the log positioner


28


are shown along with multiple actuator arms


60


with the logs


30


being also shown. The log rollers


42


are also shown. Also shown are the cutting blades


18


along with their rotatable mount means


20


, saw arm


62


, lifter arm


24


for moving the arm up or down, drive means being drive chains or belts


22


having a drive means connected to the central drive shaft


48


with a main motor drive means


50


with a drive means, i.e., chain or belt


52


. Logs


30


are moved from infeed


32


toward saw blades


18


by the log positioner


28


. As logs


30


move near the cutting blades


18


, the logs pass through a system of multiple laser beams


64


generated by a laser beam generation and information management system (not shown) in such a way that the laser beam system


64


develops a log contour which information is fed into a computer system which yields a log sawing solution so that the most efficient and best utilization of the log is accomplished. The computer system then actuates the appropriate number of saw blades


18


so that the log can be properly cut.




Turning to

FIGS. 5 and 9

, therein is shown a plan view of the present invention


10


mounted adjacent to the log positioner


28


. Direction arrow


44


shows the direction of the travel of the logs up the log positioner


28


and direction arrow


46


shows the direction of the log travel on rollers


42


. The multiple cutting blades are shown at


18


being rotatably mounted at


20


having a central drive shaft


48


with motor drive means


50


being driven by belt means


52


having a first pulley


54


connected to the motor drive means


50


and a second pulley


56


connected to the drive shaft


48


so that the shaft


48


is rotated. Hydraulic lifters arms


24


are shown connected to the frame and each saw arm


62


so that the arms


24


move saw arms


62


and thus blade


18


up or down. When a log is placed onto rollers


42


, the rollers move the end of the log (normally the butt or large end) toward the log even end at


66


so that the logs are always cut from the same reference point. The saw blades


18


are grouped in groups of four so that each drive shaft


48


only has four blades


18


operating therewith. However, any number of blades


18


could be grouped, e.g., 2,3,4,5 or 6, as desired by the user.




Turning to

FIG. 6

, therein is shown a side elevation view of portions of the present invention taken from FIG.


4


. Shown are the cutting blades


18


, rotatable mounts


20


, drive shaft


48


, motor


50


and other elements previously disclosed. Also shown is an additional clamping member


68


(or anti-pinch arm) which rotates about the same shaft


70


as the lifter arm


38


A. Just prior to the log


30


A being cut by blade


18


, the log is in the bottom of log positioner step


36


A. Lifter arm


38


A then raises log


30


A a few inches, e.g., 6″ to 8″ or about ½ way, up the upstream face of the step


36


A at which point the anti-pinch arm


68


grasps log


30


A from the side of log


30


A opposite to lifter arm


38


A at which time log


30


A is tightly secured between lifter arm


38


A and anti-pinch arm


68


whereupon the log


30


A is then cut by blade


18


(Also see FIG.


7


). After cutting, the pieces of log


30


A are moved by lifter arms


38


A toward conveyor belt


72


which conveys the log pieces away from the cutting blades to other processing points. Hydraulic actuator arms


74


actuate the anti-pinch arms


68


. The purpose of the anti-pinch arms


68


are to prevent blade


18


from pinching or binding log


30


A during the cutting process.




Turning to

FIG. 7

, therein is shown an enlarged view of portions of the present invention taken from FIG.


6


. Elements previously disclosed are shown.




Turning to

FIG. 10

, therein is shown a plan view of the saw arm


62


having a drive means


22


, i.e., a chain, being adjustably tensionable by using a rod


84


mounted onto arm


62


so that the first end


86


of rod


84


is mounted onto and connected to an adjustment arm or lever


82


which is disposed on the chain rotatable means


20


by using an adjustment plate or flange


76


pivotable about a pivot


78


. The elongated rod


84


is mounted at the second end on support mount


88


where the rod has threads for receiving mating threaded fasteners or nuts


90


so that by turning one or the other nut(s)


90


in a conventional manner, the length of rod


84


can be adjusted so as to tension chain


22


. The flange


76


has a fail-safe stop pin


80


mounted in an aperture therein. Dirt cover


92


is also shown.




Turning to

FIG. 11

, therein is shown a plan view of the saw arm and chain tension adjustment means


84


showing the saw arm


62


along with the previously disclosed elements.



Claims
  • 1. An apparatus for cutting logs, comprising:a) a plurality of cutting blades, said blades being rotatable; b) a frame for supporting said plurality of cutting blades; c) a means for conveying the logs to said plurality of cutting blades; d) a means for conveying the logs away from said plurality of cutting blades; e) a plurality of arms having one each of said cutting blades disposed thereon; f) means for moving said plurality of arms between an upward position or a downward position; g) means for rotatably mounting said cutting blades on said arm; and h) at least one drive shaft for rotatably driving said plurality of cutting blades in both of said upward and downward positions, such that at least one of said rotating blades may be moved by said arm to the downward position and continue rotating so as to cut the logs while the remaining of said cutting blades continue rotating in said upward position.
  • 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said cutting blades are disposed in the vertical plane being generally perpendicular to the centerline of the logs.
  • 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said frame further comprises a cross member upon which said cutting blades are disposed and a pair of leg members for supporting said cross member.
  • 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for conveying the logs to said plurality of cutting blades further comprises a first lifter arm that raises the logs toward said cutting blades, and, a second anti-pinch arm which cooperates with said first lifter arm to hold the log thereinbetween for cutting by said cutting blades.
  • 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for moving said plurality of arms upward or downward further comprises a hydraulic cylinder having a first end connected to said arm and a second end connected to said frame.
  • 6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a pulley disposed on a first end of said arm and a chain connected between said pulley and said drive shaft disposed on a second end of said arm.
  • 7. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising means for adjusting the tension of said chain.
  • 8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a means for rotatably driving said drive shaft so that said cutting blade rotates.
  • 9. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising one or more belts for rotating said drive shaft, said belts having a first end connecting to said drive shaft, and a second end connecting to a motor means.
  • 10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a means for controlling said cutting blades whereby a log contour is developed which yields a log sawing solution for the most efficient utilization of the logs.
  • 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said means for controlling said cutting blades further comprises a plurality of lasers, said lasers being utilized to develop a log contour so that a sawing solution is developed.
  • 12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a means for a computer to control said cutting blade and develop said sawing solution.
Parent Case Info

This application claims benefit of Provisional Application No. 60/164,968 filed on Nov. 15, 1999.

US Referenced Citations (20)
Number Name Date Kind
1608876 Davis et al. Nov 1926 A
3228440 Ferrabee Jan 1966 A
3937114 Joensson et al. Feb 1976 A
4005625 Brochu et al. Feb 1977 A
4117755 Hasenwinkle et al. Oct 1978 A
4185672 Vit et al. Jan 1980 A
4277999 Conner et al. Jul 1981 A
4640160 Hards Feb 1987 A
5142955 Hale Sep 1992 A
5174351 Lindenblatt et al. Dec 1992 A
5201354 Weissbeck Apr 1993 A
5263522 Sasko Nov 1993 A
5351729 Brisson Oct 1994 A
5408907 Mains Apr 1995 A
5638878 Weirathmueller Jun 1997 A
5653570 Weirathmueller Aug 1997 A
5785102 Hamel Jul 1998 A
5865080 Jackson Feb 1999 A
6279441 Streblow Aug 2001 B1
6305259 Whitworth et al. Oct 2001 B1
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number Date Country
2277249 Jan 2000 CA
Provisional Applications (1)
Number Date Country
60/164968 Nov 1999 US