Saw apparatus with disk bed support for lumber

Claim 2

Saw apparatus for cutting lumber along its length comprising a horizontally disposed power-driven saw arbor and a saw mounted on said arbor for rotation therewith, a multiple-disk bed disposed under said arbor defining a path of travel for lumber extending transversely of and beneath said arbor, said disk bed including multiple disks on the infeed and off bearing sides of said arbor journaled for rotation about axes paralleling the axis of said arbor with the tops of the disks occupying substantially a common horizontal plane, and pressure-applying mechanism overlying said disk bed for applying pressure to the top of lumber supported by said disks while such lumber is propelled forwardly under the saw arbor whereby the disks penetrate the wood of the underside of the lumber without substantially exceeding the elastic limit of the wood in the lumber, said pressure-applying mechanism including means on the feed side of said arbor which is releasable to enable the placement of lumber thereunder before the application of pressue thereby.

Claim 3

The saw apparatus of claim 1, wherein said pressure-applying mechanism comprises a pressure roller means on the infeed side of said saw arbor which may be raised and lowered to elevate the roller means to to press down on, respectively, lumber disposed under the roller means.

Claim 4

The saw apparatus of claim 2, wherein said pressure-applying mechanism further comprises another pressure roller means on the off bearing side of the saw arbor which may be raised and lowered to elevate the means above and to press down on, respectively, lumber disposed under the roller means, and wherein means is provided for producing such movement in said first-mentioned and said other roller means in sequence.

Claim 5

The saw apparatus of claim 1, wherein the disks of said said disk bed are bounded by circumferential edges not exceeding about 1/10 inch in width.

Claim 6

The saw apparatus of claim 1, wherein the disks of said disk bed are distributed in rows, with such rows spaced laterally from each other progressing from the feed to the off bearing side of the saw apparatus, said disks of one row are staggered with respect to disks of adjacent rows, and the disks are bounded by circumferential edges not exceeding about 1/10 of an inch in thickness.

Claim 7

Saw apparatus for cutting lumber stock along its length comprising a multiple-disk bed defining a path of travel for lumber from feed to off bearing sides of the saw apparatus, said disk bed comprising rows of plural disks with the rows of disks being laterally spaced from each other progressing from the feed to off bearing side of the apparatus, the disks of a row being rotatable about a common axis and the rotation axes of the rows of disks paralleling each other and extending horizontally and in a direction extending transversely of the path of travel of lumber through the apparatus, the tops of the disks defining a common plane in the disk bed, a saw mounted on a plane normal to the bed which parallels the path of travel of lumber from feed to off bearing sides of the saw apparatus and adapted to cut lumber resting on said bed, and pressure-applying mechanism overlying said disk bed for applying pressure to the top of lumber supported by said disk bed while such lumber is propelled forwardly past the saw whereby the disks of said bed penetrate the wood of the underside of the lumber without substantially exceeding the elastic limit of the wood, said pressure-applying mechanism including means on the feed side of said saw which is releasable to enable the placement of lumber thereunder before the application of pressure thereby.

Claim 8

Saw apparatus for cutting lumber stock along its length comprising a multiple-disk bed defining a path of travel for lumber from feed to off bearing sides of the saw apparatus, said disk bed comprising rows of plural disks with the rows of disks being laterally spaced from each other progressing from the feed to off bearing side of the apparatus, the disks of a row being rotatable about a common axis and the rotation axes of the rows of disks paralleling each other and extending horizontally and in a direction extending transversely of the path of travel of lumber through the apparatus, the tops of the disks defining a common plane in the disk bed, a saw mounted on a plane normal to the bed which parallels the path of travel of lumber from feed to off bearing sides of the saw apparatus and adapted to cut lumber resting on said bed, and pressure-applying mechanism overlying said disk bed for applying pressure to the top of lumber supported by said disk bed while such lumber is propelled forwardly past the saw whereby the disks of said bed penetrate the wood of the underside of the lumber without substantially exceeding the elastic limit of the wood, said pressure-applying mechanism including means on the feed side of said saw which is releasable to enable the placement of lumber thereunder before the application of pressure thereby.

Claim 9

The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said mechanism for applying pressure to the top of lumber comprises at least a pair of pressure roller means with one disposed on the infeed side of said saw and one disposed on the off bearing side of said saw, each of said pressure roller means being rotatably about an axis paralleling the axes of the rows of disks, each of said pressure roller means being rotated under power whereby the same is effective to propel lumber through the saw apparatus passing under the roller means, each of said pressure roller means being raisable and lowerable to elevate the roller means above and to press down on lumber disposed beneath the roller means, respectively, means being provided for raising and lowering each pressure roller means independently of the other.

Claim 12

The method of claim 8, wherein the lumber is pressed against the disks at pressure regions disposed on the feed and off bearing sides, respectively, of where the cuttinG is performed, and pressure is applied to lumber at a pressure region not until the lead end of the lumber has advanced beyond the pressure region.