Patent Application
20240399614
The present application generally relates to systems and methods for manufacturing wooden components used to construct wooden roof trusses, wooden floor trusses and wooden wall panels, and more particularly, to a system and method for automatically producing and labelling such wooden components and assembled trusses in an efficient, reliable and economical manner.
Construction of wooden homes and buildings often requires a series of wooden roof trusses for supporting the roof of the home or building. Often, such roof trusses are constructed at a centralized manufacturing site and then transported to the work site where the home or building is being erected. For a typical sloped roof, each roof truss typically includes a bottom chord that extends horizontally along with a pair of opposing top chords that extend upwardly from the ends of the bottom chord toward an upper ridge or peak. A series of diagonal webs and/or vertical posts, extend between the bottom chord and the upper chords to reinforce the truss structure. A single home or building may require ten, twenty, or more different types of roof truss members, each with its own combination of bottom chords, upper chords and webs/posts. It is not unusual for a particular building to require, for example, over 600 components (bottom chords, upper chords, webs/posts) to form the various roof trusses required to construct the roof of such building.
Apart from roof trusses, building construction often makes use of wooden wall panels and wooden floor trusses, which may also include wooden chords interconnected by webs and/or posts.
In order to properly bear the loads specified for each such roof truss, each bottom chord, upper chord and web/post of a given truss must be made from wood boards of a particular grade and particular cross-sectional dimensions. In designing wooden roof trusses, it is common to form the various components of each wooden truss from one of five different starting materials, namely, a) 2 inch×6 inch SPF2100 wood boards; b) 2 inch×6 inch SPF1650 wood boards; c) 2 inch×4 inch SPF2100 wood boards; d) 2 inch×4 inch SPF1650 wood boards; and 2 inch×4 inch SPF #2 wood boards. A given truss may be formed of several components, each of which is formed from a different grade, and different cross-sectional dimensions, than other component parts within the same truss. Each such component must have a specified length. Further, the ends of such components often require angled cuts for allowing the components to be joined together at their ends when assembling the truss.
Efforts have been made in the past to mass-produce wooden roof truss components. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,347 to Phelps, discloses a system and method for precutting lumber used for building trusses and frames. While the system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,347 provided several improvements over prior production systems, the system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,347 still required at least one operator to manually control the process of infeeding boards of the various grades and dimensions into the system. As set forth in the '347 patent specification, an operator stands at the chute area and feeds the needed grade of lumber onto a conveyor belt one board at a time. The operator at the infeed chute visually checks the quality of each board and feeds it onto a continuous conveyor line, one board at a time in linear relationship to one another. If the operator identifies a board as being visually defective, the operator rejects the board and does not feed it onto the continuous conveyor line. If the board is not defective but needs trimming to eliminate a bad spot on the end of the board, the operator marks the board as one needing trimming. In addition, in the system described in the '347 patent, the infeed operator “crowns” all of the boards in the same direction, i.e., the operator visually inspects each board to see if the board is bowing upwardly or downwardly, and manually flips selected boards to ensure that all boards “crown” in the same direction, e.g., that all boards bow upwardly. The need for an operator to visually inspect each board, to mark defective boards, and to manually feed each board onto the conveyor, and to selectively flip boards to ensure that they all crown in the same direction, increases labor costs and slows down the system.
In addition, the system of the '347 patent requires an actual manual operator to detect defects at an end of a wooden board. Such defects are either detected and marked by the operator manning the infeed chutes, or by a second operator viewing the boards as they travel along the linear conveyor belt. In either case, the defective board must be side ejected to a trim area for removal of the defect by the second operator, after which the board is returned to the continuous conveyor line in linear arrangement with the other boards. The need for the first and second operators to visually detect such defects, the need to eject such boards to a separate trim area for cutting out the defects, and the need to return the trimmed boards back to the conveyor line, necessarily slows down the through-put of the system and places greater burdens upon the operators. A further disadvantage of the system of the '347 patent is the need for an RF tunnel to dry and set the glue used to join together the ends of the boards grooved by the finger-jointer line. Due to the use of an RF tunnel, incoming wooden boards need to be scanned for the presence of metal (from metal staples, nails, etc.), since metal components will disrupt the radio wave energy broadcast in the RF tunnel. The '347 patent also describes situations wherein the rejection of a board downstream from the infeed chutes results in the need for a warning to be sent to the manual infeed operator that an additional board must be fed-in to make up for the board being rejected downline; this places additional demands on the manual infeed operator, and further slows the throughput of the system.
Roof trusses, floor trusses and wall panels that are manufactured remote from the site at which a building is to be constructed must be transported to the building site. The most common method of transporting such assemblies is by truck. In order to minimize transportation costs, such elements are typically stacked on each other to form more compact bundles. Once a truck arrives at the construction site, a crane may be used to unload truss assemblies and wall panels from the truck. However, it can be difficult identify and distinguish one roof truss from another, one wall panel from another, or one floor truss from another, particularly when they have been stacked together. The ability to identify and distinguish one type of assembled truss or panel from another can make the loading process run more efficiently by allowing a responsible party to more easily confirm that the correct type and quantity of assembled trusses and panels have been loaded onto the truck. Likewise, the ability to identify and distinguish one type of assembled truss or panel from another can make the loading process run more efficiently by allowing workers at the construction site to quickly confirm that the correct type and quantity of assembled trusses and panels have been delivered to the site, and to select a desired truss or panel for removal by the crane operator and for positioning such desired truss or panel at the proper location within the building. Unfortunately, any identifying information printed or labeled on the broader faces of the wooden members that make up a truss or panel are often hidden from view once such trusses or panels are stacked together.
In addition, it can be advantageous to be able to identify installed wooden truss assemblies after they have been installed in a building project, for example, by an observer located on the ground looking up at an installed roof truss, or by an observer positioned atop the roofing framework during installation of the roof. However, it can be difficult to identify a particular wooden truss type when viewing such wooden truss from below or from above.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for manufacturing wooden components used to construct wooden roof trusses, wooden floor trusses or wooden wall panels in an automatic, efficient, reliable, and economical manner.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus and method which minimizes the need for manual labor.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus and method which avoids the need for visual inspection and/or manual marking of wooden boards by a human operator.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus and method which eliminates the need for a human operator to manually feed, and/or manually flip, wooden boards placed on a conveyor for further processing.
A further object of the present invention is to avoid the need for a human operator to detect defects at the ends of wooden boards.
A still further object of the present invention is to eliminate the need to eject defective boards to the side for off-line trimming by a human operator to remove the defect, as well as the need to return the trimmed boards back to the conveyor line.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus and method wherein removal of a board due to a defect automatically increments the number of raw boards being fed in by the selected infeed chute.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for manufacturing wooden components used to construct wooden roof trusses, wooden floor trusses and/or wooden wall panels in a manner which allows assembled trusses and/or panels to be easily identified after such trusses and/or panels have been assembled, even when such trusses and/or panels have been stacked together.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art as the description of the present invention proceeds.
Briefly described, and in accordance with various embodiments thereof, the present invention relates to a method of cutting wooden members used to assemble a plurality of wooden trusses or frames. Each such truss generally includes at least first and second chords and a plurality of web members, or posts, for extending between the first and second chords, wherein at least one web member is formed from wood of a first type and at least another web member is formed from wood of a second type. In practicing such method, a control computer is provided, including a processor and a memory for storing a control program. The control computer includes an input interface for receiving a batch list selected by an operator. This batch list identifies each of the chords and web members that are included in each of the wooden trusses required for a particular building. The operator inputs the batch list to the control computer, and the control computer generates control signals for controlling other components of the system.
A first conveyor is provided for transporting wooden members therealong. A first infeed chute is provided in which wooden members of the first type are stored. The first infeed chute receives control signals from the control computer to automatically transfer wooden members of the first type to the first conveyor. At least a second infeed chute is also provided in which wooden members of the second type are stored. The second infeed chute also receives control signals from the control computer to automatically transfer wooden members of the second type to the first conveyor.
As wooden members are conveyed by the first conveyor, they are scanned by a scanner to detect defects located adjacent an end of each such wooden member. Any such detected defects are then trimmed by an inline defect saw without requiring ejection of such wooden members to a separate defect trim area.
The wooden members are then advanced to a finger-jointer which serves to join wooden members received thereby end-to-end by grooving and gluing the ends of the wooden members and crowding them together to discharge a continuous length of joined wood. The continuous length of joined wood discharged from the finger-jointer is conveyed to a first flying saw for cutting the continuous length of joined wood into predetermined lengths. The flying saw receives control signals from the control computer for determining the lengths of wooden members to be cut from the continuous length of joined wood discharged from the finger-jointer.
The wooden members cut by the first flying saw are then conveyed to a cutting saw for selectively cutting the received wooden members into two or more web member blanks in response to control signals received from the control computer. Each such web member blank has ends generally perpendicular to the length of such web member blank. In at least one embodiment, this cutting saw is a second flying saw.
The web member blanks are then conveyed to a component saw for cutting angles on the ends of the web member blanks in response to control signals received from the control computer. The web members produced by the component saw are finished web members which may be used to assemble the various of wooden trusses specified in the batch list.
In practicing the above-summarized method, the control computer executes the control program to analyze the batch list selected by the operator and causes the first infeed chute to automatically transfer wooden members of the first type to the first conveyor in an amount sufficient to produce all web members formed from wood of the first type required by the batch list, and then causes the second infeed chute to automatically transfer wooden members of the second type to the first conveyor in an amount sufficient to produce all web members formed from wood of the second type required by the batch list. In one embodiment, wood of the first type stored at the first infeed chute has a first grade rating, and wood of the second type stored at the second infeed chute has a second grade rating that is lower than the first grade rating. The control computer causes the first infeed chute to automatically transfer wooden members of the first type having the first grade rating to the first conveyor in an amount sufficient to produce all web members formed from wood of the first type required by the batch list, and then causes the second infeed chute to automatically transfer wooden members of the second type having the second grade rating to the first conveyor in an amount sufficient to produce all web members formed from wood of the second type required by the batch list.
In one embodiment of the foregoing method, the step of scanning the wooden members includes scanning wooden members being conveyed by the first conveyor to detect wooden members having excessive moisture content. In at least one embodiment, the foregoing method further includes the step of removing wooden members having excessive moisture content from the first conveyor before they are transported to the finger jointer.
In one embodiment of the foregoing method, the step of scanning the wooden members includes scanning conveyed wooden members to detect a degree of crowning of each such wooden member. In at least one embodiment, the foregoing method includes the further step of selectively cutting conveyed wooden members into shorter lengths to reduce the degree of crowning present in the shorter length wooden members.
In one embodiment of the foregoing method, each finished web member produced by the component saw is conveyed past an ink jet printer for printing a label on each finished web member identifying a particular type of web member identified in the batch list.
In at least one embodiment of the foregoing method, the finished web members are conveyed to an automatic stacker for stacking the finished web members into separate stacked piles corresponding to the particular type of web member so produced.
In at least one embodiment of the foregoing method, the length of each wooden member being transferred by the first infeed chute to the first conveyor is scanned during transfer to the first conveyor, and the scanned length is transmitted to the control computer, whereby the control computer may track the total lineal length of wooden boards loaded from the first infeed chute onto the first conveyor. Similarly, the length of each wooden member being transferred by the second infeed chute to the first conveyor is scanned during transfer to the first conveyor, and the scanned length is transmitted to the control computer, whereby the control computer may track the total lineal length of wooden boards loaded from the second infeed chute onto the first conveyor.
In at least one embodiment, each of the first and second infeed chutes includes a crowning sensor for sensing the crowning direction for each wooden member being transported onto the first conveyor, as well as a flipper for rotating wooden members about their longitudinal axes by 180 degrees. If the sensed crowning direction for a particular wooden member differs from a desired crowning direction, the method includes the step of flipping such wooden member by 180 degrees before they are deposited onto the first conveyor, whereby all wooden members deposited onto the first conveyor crown in the same direction.
Another aspect of the present invention is an apparatus, or system, for cutting wooden members used to assemble wooden trusses or frames. Each such truss generally includes at least first and second chords and a plurality of web members, or posts, for extending between the first and second chords, wherein at least one web member is formed from wood of a first type and at least another web member is formed from wood of a second type.
In one embodiment, the aforementioned apparatus or system includes a control computer having a processor and a memory for storing a control program. The control computer includes an input interface for receiving a batch list selected by an operator, wherein the batch list identifies each web member included in each of the series of wooden trusses. The control computer generates control signals distributed to the other components of the system to coordinate the production of the various web members.
The foregoing apparatus includes a first conveyor for transporting wooden members therealong. A first infeed chute includes stored wooden members of the first type. In response to control signals received from the control computer, the first infeed chute automatically transfers wooden members of the first type to the first conveyor. Similarly, a second infeed chute includes stored wooden members of the second type. In response to control signals received from the control computer, the second infeed chute automatically transfers wooden members of the second type to the first conveyor.
In one embodiment, the aforementioned apparatus includes a scanner associated with the first conveyor for scanning wooden members being conveyed thereby to detect defects located adjacent an end of each wooden member. An inline defect saw is associated with the first conveyor for trimming defects detected by the scanner from the ends of wooden members passing thereby.
A finger-jointer has an inlet for receiving wooden members transported by the first conveyor. The finger-jointer serves to join the wooden members received thereby end-to-end by grooving the ends of each wooden member, applying glue to the grooved ends, and crowding together the ends of adjacent wooden boards to discharge a continuous length of joined wood at its outlet.
A first flying saw receives the continuous length of joined wood discharged from the outlet of the finger-jointer, and cuts it into predetermined lengths of wooden members. The first flying saw receives control signals from the control computer for determining the lengths of wooden members cut from the continuous length of joined wood discharged from the finger-jointer. The cut wooden members leaving the first flying saw are received by a cutting saw for selectively cutting the received wooden members into two or more web member blanks in response to control signals received from the control computer. Each such web member blank has ends generally perpendicular to the length of each web member blank. In at least some embodiments, the cutting saw is a second flying saw.
A component saw receives the web member blanks cut by the cutting saw. In response to control signals received from the control computer, the component saw cuts angles on the ends of the web member blanks to produce finished web members used to assemble the plurality of wooden trusses specified in the selected batch list.
The control computer included in the apparatus summarized above executes the control program to analyze the batch list selected by the operator and causes the first infeed chute to automatically transfer wooden members of the first type to the first conveyor in an amount sufficient to produce all required web members that are formed from wood of the first type, and then causes the second infeed chute to automatically transfer wooden members of the second type to the first conveyor in an amount sufficient to produce all required web members that are formed from wood of the second type.
In one embodiment of the foregoing apparatus, wood of the first type has a first grade rating; wood of the second type has a second grade rating that is lower than the first grade rating; and the control computer causes the first infeed chute to automatically transfer wooden members of the first type (having the first grade rating) to the first conveyor in an amount sufficient to produce all required web members formed from wood of the first type. The control computer then causes the second infeed chute to automatically transfer wooden members of the second type (having the second grade rating) to the first conveyor in an amount sufficient to produce all required web members that are formed from wood of the second type.
In at least one embodiment of the foregoing apparatus, the scanner scans wooden members being conveyed by the first conveyor to detect wooden members having excessive moisture content. In at least some such embodiments, the apparatus also includes an extractor for removing wooden members having excessive moisture content from the first conveyor before they are transported to the inlet of the finger jointer.
In at least one embodiment of the foregoing apparatus, the scanner scans wooden members being conveyed by the first conveyor to detect a degree of crowning for each such wooden member. In at least some such embodiments, the defect saw selectively cuts wooden members being conveyed by the first conveyor to reduce the degree of crowning in the cut wooden members.
In one embodiment of the foregoing apparatus, an ink jet printer is provided for receiving finished web members produced by the component saw, and for printing a label on each finished web member identifying a particular type of web member identified in the batch list.
In at least some embodiments of the foregoing apparatus, an automatic stacker receives the finished web members produced by the component saw for stacking the finished web members into separate stacked piles corresponding to the particular type of web member so produced.
In at least one embodiment of the foregoing apparatus, the first infeed chute includes a first lineal scanner for detecting the length of each wooden member transferred by the first infeed chute to the first conveyor, and for transmitting such scanned length to the control computer, whereby the control computer may track the total lineal length of wooden boards loaded from the first infeed chute onto the first conveyor. Similarly, the second infeed chute includes a second lineal scanner for detecting the length of each wooden member transferred by the second infeed chute to the first conveyor, and for transmitting such scanned length to the control computer, whereby the control computer may track the total lineal length of wooden boards loaded from the second infeed chute onto the first conveyor.
In some embodiments of the foregoing apparatus, each of the first and second infeed chutes includes a crowning sensor for sensing the crowning direction for each wooden member being transported onto the first conveyor, as well as a flipper for rotating wooden members about their longitudinal axes by 180 degrees. If the sensed crowning direction for a particular wooden member differs from a desired crowning direction, the flipper is actuated to rotate such wooden member by 180 degrees before it is deposited onto the first conveyor, whereby all wooden members deposited onto the first conveyor crown in the same direction.
In a further aspect, an apparatus for forming wooden members used to assemble wooden trusses, each truss including chords and web members for extending between the chords, includes a control computer having a processor and a memory for storing a control program. The control computer includes an input interface for receiving a batch list selected by an operator to identify chords and web members included in each truss. An infeed chute receives control signals from the control computer to automatically transfer stored wooden members to a first conveyor that transports wooden members therealong. A finger-jointer receives wooden members transported by the first conveyor joins them together end-to-end, and discharges a continuous length of joined wood at its outlet. At least one saw cuts the continuous length of joined wood discharged by the finger-jointer into lengths of cut wooden members in response to control signals received from the control computer, each cut wooden member having a pair of opposing faces and a pair of opposing edges. A second conveyor transports the cut wooden members. A face printer is disposed along the second conveyor and coupled to the control computer for printing identifying component information upon one of the faces of each cut wooden member; the identifying component information indicates a particular component within a wooden truss structure. An edge printer is also disposed along the second conveyor and is coupled to the control computer for printing identifying assembled truss information upon one of the edges of selected cut wooden members; the identifying assembled truss information indicating a particular assembled wooden truss. In at least one embodiment, the face printer and edge printer are oriented perpendicular to each other.
In at least one embodiment, a sensor is disposed along the second conveyor upstream from the face printer and edge printer and is coupled to the control computer for detecting a forwardmost end of a cut wooden member. The sensor provides a detection signal to the control computer to synchronize printing by the face printer and to synchronize printing by the edge printer.
Another aspect relates to a method of printing identifying information on components of wooden trusses and printing identifying information on assembled wooden trusses. Each wooden truss includes chords and web members for extending between such chords. The method includes providing a control computer having an input interface for receiving a batch list selected by an operator to identify the chords and web members included in each wooden truss. The method includes providing at least one infeed chute in which wooden members are stored; providing a first conveyor for transporting wooden members therealong; and transferring wooden members from the infeed chute to the first conveyor in response to control signals received from the control computer. The method further includes providing a finger-jointer receiving wooden members transported by the first conveyor, joining wooden members received thereby end-to-end, and discharging a continuous length of joined wood. The continuous length of joined wood discharged by the finger-jointer is conveyed to at least one saw that cuts the continuous length of joined wood into lengths of cut wooden members in response to control signals received from the control computer. The cut wooden members are transported along a second conveyor. A face printer is disposed along the second conveyor for printing identifying component information upon one of the faces of each cut wooden member in response to control signals received from the control computer, the identifying component information indicating a particular component within a wooden truss structure. An edge printer is disposed along the second conveyor for printing identifying assembled truss information upon one of the edges of selected cut wooden members in response to control signals received from the control computer to indicate a particular assembled wooden truss. In at least one embodiment, the method includes orienting the face printer and the edge printer perpendicular to each other.
In at least one embodiment of the foregoing method, the method includes detecting that the forwardmost end of a cut wooden member conveyed by the second conveyor is approaching the face printer and the edge printer, and providing a detection signal to the control computer signaling that the forwardmost end of a cut wooden member conveyed by the second conveyor is approaching the face printer and the edge printer. The method may include using the control computer to synchronize printing by the face printer and to synchronize printing by the edge printer. In at least some embodiments, the identifying assembled truss information is printed upon an edge of each selected cut wooden member at approximately the same distance from the forwardmost end of each selected cut wooden member whereby, when a plurality of assembled wooden trusses are stacked together, the identifying assembled truss information printed on such plurality of assembled wooden trusses lies substantially along a common row.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following more detailed description of particular embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived by referring to the detailed description and claims when considered in connection with the Figures, wherein:
Referring to
The SPF designation is an acronym for “Spruce-Pine-Fir”, and the number following the “SPF” designation relates to the bending force which such wooden member can safely bear. Thus, a two inch by six inch wood board rated SPF2100 can bear a greater load than a two inch by six inch wood board rated at SPF1650. Designers of wooden trusses and frames often use computer programs to calculate the grade and cross-sectional dimensions of each member in a given truss or frame in order to safely bear specified loads.
As in the case of infeed chute 102, infeed chutes 104, 106, 108 and 110 also include material stacks 114, 116, 118, and 120, respectively, each having wooden members of a different grade and/or cross-sectional dimension. For example, material stack 114 might contain wooden members of the type rated as SPF1650 and having cross-sectional dimensions measuring approximately 2 inches by 6 inches. Material stack 116 might contain wooden members of the type rated as SPF2100 and having cross-sectional dimensions measuring approximately 2 inches by 4 inches. Material stack 118 might contain wooden members of the type rated as SPF1650 and having cross-sectional dimensions measuring approximately 2 inches by 4 inches. Finally, material stack 120 might contain wooden members rated as SPF #2 and having cross-sectional dimensions measuring approximately 2 inches by 4 inches; SPF #2 lumber is lower cost and more economical than the other grades mentioned. All of the wooden boards stored in material stacks 112-120 may vary in length, but are often provided in approximately 14-foot lengths.
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Since the control computer needs to monitor the total lineal footage of boards deposited onto conveyor 122 by infeed chute 102, chain roller conveyor 126 preferably includes a lineal scanner which scans the length of each wood board being conveyed thereby, and the results of such reading are provided to the control computer. Likewise, each of the chain roller conveyors provided in infeed chutes 104-110 also includes its own lineal scanner for sending the same information to the control computer.
It is also desired that each wooden board deposited onto conveyor 122 by each of infeed chutes 102-110 has its “crown” directed in the same direction. Often, wood boards sourced by a lumber mill are not perfectly flat or planar. Rather, if the board were to be laid on a flat concrete floor, a curvature or bowing would be observed. If the ends of the board contact the concrete floor, but the central portion of the board is raised above the floor, then the board is said to be “crowning upwardly”. In contrast, if the ends of the board are raised above the floor, and the central portion of the board is in contact with the floor, then the board is said to be “crowning downwardly”. It is desired that all wooden boards deposited upon conveyor 122 be “crowning” in the same direction as each other. To achieve this result, a crowning scanner, which employs a laser beam, is included adjacent chain roller conveyor 126 in infeed chute 102 for detecting the crowning direction of each wooden board transported thereby; a board flipper is also included in chain roller conveyor 126 which selectively rotates a wooden board about its longitudinal axis by 180 degrees in response to the crowning scanner. In this manner, each board that is deposited onto conveyor 122 by chain roller conveyor 126 crowns in the same direction as every other wooden member deposited onto conveyor 122. Likewise, each of the chain roller conveyors provided in infeed chutes 104-110 also includes its own crowning scanner and board flipper for ensuring that all boards crown in the same direction. It will be noted that the crowning scanners incorporated within the infeed chutes do not measure the degree of crowning, but only the direction of crowning.
In carrying out the production of truss components using the apparatus described herein, it is preferred that, for boards of a given cross-sectional dimension (i.e., 2 inch by six inch, or 2 inch by four inch), infeeding begins with boards of the highest grade. In other words, if a given truss batch list includes some members formed from 2 inch by six inch SPF2100 boards and other members formed from 2 inch by six inch SPF1650 boards, then it is preferred to begin with the infeeding of the 2 inch by six inch SPF2100 boards until all truss components requiring 2 inch by six inch SPF2100 wood have been produced. At that point, infeed chute 102 can be de-activated by the control computer in favor of infeed chute 104. Even if, at that point, there are still SPF2100 boards being conveyed toward the finger jointer (to be described in greater detail below), or even if SPF2100 continuous jointed lumber is still emerging from the finger jointer, such excess material may be safely used to form the first several truss components which are specified to use SPF1650 material. Likewise, when the system is done producing components requiring SPF2100 2 inch by 4 inch material supplied by infeed chute 106, any boards still in process can safely be incorporated into truss components that merely require SPF1650 2 inch by 4 inch material supplied by infeed chute 108. Similarly, when the system is done producing components requiring SPF1650 2 inch by 4 inch material supplied by infeed chute 108, any boards still in process can safely be incorporated into truss components that merely require SPF #2 2 inch by 4 inch material supplied by infeed chute 110.
Turning now to
After scanning by scanners 202 and 204, the wooden boards on conveyor 122 are transferred to lineal to parallel cross transfer 200 and transported by conveyor 212 in parallel orientation to machinery designated 214. Machinery 214 is coupled to control computer 206 by network cable 216, and when signaled to do so, machinery 214 removes defective boards that have excessive moisture content, and transfers them to rejected boards area. While not common, machinery 214 can also transfer a board to the rejected boards area if its degree of curvature is so great that even cutting the board into two or three shorter lengths will not adequately address the issue of excessive curvature.
Those boards which are not rejected by machinery 214 are passed end-to-end, in lineal orientation, on conveyor 220, passing through defect saw station 222. Defect saw 222 is coupled by network cable 224 to control computer 206, and based upon control signals provided by control computer 206, defect saw either allows each board to pass therethrough without interference, or cuts one or both ends of such board, depending upon whether scanner 204 detected a defect at one or both ends of such board. In addition, defect saw may also be signaled by control computer 206 to cut a board in two equal shorter sections, or alternatively, in three equal shorter sections. The amount of “crown” for a given board should not be more than 3/16 inch. By cutting longer boards having excessive crown into two or three shorter sections, it is often possible to reduce the amount of crown in the shorter, cut sections below 3/16 inch.
With reference to
The aligned boards are then passed to board feeder 304 in which they are aligned and indexed so that they all lie perfectly parallel to each other, perpendicular to the direction of travel, and are then fed to finger joint line area 306. Such finger joint lines are commercially available from Michael Weinig Inc. of Mooresville, North Carolina. Such finger joint lines are designed to cut interlocking grooves in the rightmost ends of wooden boards, and then realign the boards to align along their leftmost ends by rolling the boards to the opposite side. Once the left edges of the boards are aligned with each other, complementary interlocking grooves are cut in the leftmost ends of such boards. After the interlocking grooves are cut, glue is applied to the grooved ends. The ends of adjacent boards are then interlocked and compressed together, or “crowded”, under pressure to form a secure joint between the ends of adjacent boards. The result is a continuous output of finger-jointed material which can later be cut to desired lengths.
Referring now to
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If desired, boards conveyed by conveyor 508 may be transferred onto a paternoster lift which alternately raises and lowers a large number of incoming boards, assuring a ready supply of boards for feeding to optisaw 512. Optisaw 512 is coupled to control computer 206 by network cable 514, and under the direction of control computer 206, optisaw 512 cuts incoming wooden members into precise lengths, or web member blanks, generally corresponding to webs or posts called for by the truss batch list. It will be noted that the incoming wooden members provided to optisaw 512 were already cut once by flying cutoff saw 404 (see
Turning now to
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Returning to control computer 206 in
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As already noted, a single batch list for a single building might include as many as 50 different roof truss configurations, each including its own combination of chords, webs and posts. All of these chord, web and post components are specified within a given batch list for a given building. Now referring to
At step 1004, control computer causes infeed chute to begin infeeding 2×6 SPF2100 boards onto conveyor 122 for at least until the total lineal footage of 2×6 SPF2100 boards has reached the computed amount required. As represented by step 106, the lineal length of each board delivered by infeed chute 102 to conveyor 122 is measured and fed to control computer 206, allowing control computer 206 to continuously track and compare the total lineal footage delivered by infeed chute 102 to the lineal footage requirements computed in step 1002. Control computer allows infeed chute 102 to keep depositing boards onto conveyor 122 at least until the total lineal footage deposited matches the computed lineal footage that is required by the batch. Step 106 also indicates that boards that are crowned in the wrong direction are flipped before being delivered to conveyor 122 in step 1008. As already noted, for a given cross-sectional dimension of wood stock, control computer starts with the highest grade stock and ends with the lowest grade stock; this ensures that any wood stock in progress will always have at least as high a grade as that required for a given web member in the batch list.
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Step 1016 in
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Still referring to
It will be appreciated that the elongated chords of the type shown as chords 1402 and 1404 within floor truss 1400 of
It will be appreciated that a novel method has also been described to print identifying information on components of wooden trusses and panels, and to print information identifying assembled wooden trusses and/or panels. The method includes providing a control computer 206 having a processor and a memory for storing a control program. An operator interfaces with the control computer to select a batch list which identifies each chord, post and/or web member included in each of the plurality of wooden trusses or panels. The method includes providing a first conveyor (e.g., conveyor 122 of
The foregoing method may also include detecting that the forwardmost end of a cut wooden member conveyed by the second conveyor is approaching the face printer and the edge printer, and providing a detection signal to the control computer signaling that the forwardmost end of a cut wooden member conveyed by the second conveyor is approaching the face printer and the edge printer. The control computer is used to synchronize printing by the face printer and to synchronize printing by the edge printer, whereby the correct identification information is printed on each wooden member. In at least one such embodiment of such method, the identifying assembled truss/panel information is printed upon an edge of each selected cut wooden member at approximately the same distance from the forwardmost end of each selected cut wooden member. In this manner, when a plurality of assembled wooden trusses or panels are stacked together, the identifying assembled truss/panel information printed on such plurality of assembled wooden trusses/panels lies substantially along a common row. In at lease one embodiment of such method, the face printer and the edge printer are oriented perpendicular to each other.
Those skilled in the art should now appreciate that the present invention provides an improved apparatus and method for manufacturing wooden components used to construct wooden roof trusses, wooden floor trusses or wooden wall panels in an automatic, efficient, reliable, and economical manner, minimizing the need for manual labor. No visual inspection of wooden boards, nor manual marking of wooden boards, nor flipping of wooden boards, is required by a human operator, and the infeeding of wooden boards is entirely automated. Defects in wooden boards are detected automatically without the need to rely on human operators, and to the extent that defects can be corrected, such corrections are carried out automatically without slowing the advance of non-defective boards. In addition, identifying information can be printed on components of wooden trusses and panels, and information identifying assembled wooden trusses and/or panels can be printed on outer chords of such assemblies by transporting cut wooden members along a conveyor provided with a face printer and an edge printer. The face printer prints identifying component information upon one of the faces of each cut wooden member, and an edge printer applies identifying assembled truss/panel information upon one of the edges of selected cut wooden members. to identify a particular assembled wooden truss or panel. A sensor communicating with a control computer synchronizes printing by the face printer and edge printer. The identifying assembled truss/panel information is easily visible even when a number of trusses or panels are stacked together.
The embodiments specifically illustrated and/or described herein are provided merely to exemplify particular applications of the invention. These descriptions and drawings should not be considered in a limiting sense, as it is understood that the present invention is in no way limited to only the disclosed embodiments. It will be appreciated that various modifications or adaptations of the methods and or specific structures described herein may become apparent to those skilled in the art. All such modifications, adaptations, or variations are considered to be within the spirit and scope of the present invention, and within the scope of the appended claims.
This non-provisional patent application is a continuation-in-part of, and claims the benefit of the earlier filing date of prior-filed U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 18/487,531, filed Oct. 16, 2023, entitled “Wooden Truss Manufacturing System And Method”, which was in turn a continuation of, and claims the benefit of the earlier filing date of, prior-filed U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 18/325,689, filed on May 30, 2023, entitled “Wooden Truss Manufacturing System And Method”, under 35 U.S.C. 120.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 18325689 | May 2023 | US |
| Child | 18487531 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 18487531 | Oct 2023 | US |
| Child | 18766020 | US |
