Multi-mortising machine

Claim 1

A machine for mortising a load of beams in a continuous operation to form premortised plate material in preparation for the subsequent construction of the framing of a building from the mortised plate material, the machine comprising a work support bed lying in a substantially horizontal plane, a set of spaced apart and substantially vertically disposed rotary driven mortising blades in the plane of the bed, means for continuously feeding several side-by-side stacks of beams adapted to serve as plate material to a predetermined position adjacent to the work support bed, the feeding means including a vertically movable elevator bed adjacent the work support bed for supporting the several stacks of beams, and power operated lifting means disposed below the elevator bed for exerting an upward force on the bottom of the bed to lift a row of side-by-side beams to the plane of the work support bed, and stack transfer means movable in a horizontal plane and spaced above the elevator bed and the work support bed for both (a) applying a horizontal pushing force to an uppermost row of beams to move the beams from the support of the elevator bed onto the work support bed and (b) moving the beams into contact with the mortising blades, the lifting means and the stack transfer means being sequentially operative in timed relation to each other to alternately feed an uppermost row of beams to the plane of the work support bed and push the beams onto the work support bed, the mortising blades extending vertically upwardly from the plane of the work support bed to provide working edges spaced sufficiently above the planE of the work support bed that they form longitudinally spaced apart notches in the bottoms of the beams extending across the width of each beam.

Claim 12

A method of mortising a load of beams in a continuous operation to form premortised plate material in preparation for the subsequent construction of the framing of a building from the mortised plate material, the method comprising rotating a series of substantially vertically disposed mortising blades adjacent a work support bed lying in a substantially horizontal plane, supporting several side-by-side stacks of beams adapted to serve as plate material on an elevator bed adjacent the work support bed, lifting the elevator bed to position a row of side-by-side beams in the same plane as the work support bed, and moving a stack transfer member along a path in a horizontal plane spaced above the elevator bed and the work support bed to both (a) apply a horizontal pushing force to the uppermost row of beams to move them from the support of the elevator bed onto the work support bed and (b) move the beams into contact with the mortising blades, the lifting means and the stack transfer member being sequentially operative in timed relation to each other to alternately feed an uppermost row of beams to the plane of the work support bed and push the beams onto the work support bed, the mortising blades being in the planE of the work support bed and extending vertically upwardly from the work support bed to provide working edges spaced sufficiently above the plane of the work support bed that they form longitudinally spaced apart notches in the bottoms of the beams extending across the width of each beam.

Claim 13

A method of mortising a load of beams in a continuous operation to form premortised plate material in preparation for the subsequent construction of the framing of a building from the mortised plate material, the method comprising rotating a series of substantially vertically disposed mortising blades adjacent a work support bed lying in a substantially horizontal plane, supporting several side-by-side stacks of beams adapted to serve as plate material on an elevator bed adjacent the work support bed, lifting the elevator bed to position a row of side-by-side beams in the same plane as the work support bed, and moving a stack transfer member along a path in a horizontal plane spaced above the elevator bed and the work support bed to both (a) apply a horizontal pushing force to the uppermost row of beams to move them from the support of the elevator bed onto the work support bed and (b) move the beams into contact with the mortising blades, the lifting means and the stack transfer member being sequentially operative in timed relation to each other to alternately feed an uppermost row of beams to the plane of the work support bed and push the beams onto the work support bed, the mortising blades being in the planE of the work support bed and extending vertically upwardly from the work support bed to provide working edges spaced sufficiently above the plane of the work support bed that they form longitudinally spaced apart notches in the bottoms of the beams extending across the width of each beam.