Sawmill apparatus

Claim 2

Sawmill apparatus comprising a track formed of a pair of guide rails, a carriage slidably mounted between the guide rails for endwise movement lengthwise of the track away from and towards a log-loading position near one end of said track, a fluid-operated mechanism mounted on the carriage below the track and including an extensible member, a fixed clamp movable with the carriage and projecting upwardly between the rails, a hinged clamp operatively connected to the extensible member for swinging movement about a horizontal axis extending across the track and projecting upwardly between the rails longitudinally spaced from and in substantially the same vertical plane as the fixed clamp, stop means for supporting the hinged clamp in a generally upright position whereby to limit swinging movement away from the fixed clamp, spring means biasing the hinged clamp toward the upright position, means for supplying pressurized fluid to the fluidoperated mechanism whereby to apply the clamps to opposite ends of a log positioned above the track in the log-loading position, and drive means for reciprocating the carriage through a cutting stroke and a return stroke relative to a cutting element disposed intermediate the length of the track and in close proximity to the path of travel of the clamps whereby to cut the clamped log lengthwise, said hinged clamp passing beneath a preloaded log as the empty carriage completes a return stroke whereby automatically to snap upwardly for engagement with an end of said preloaded log.

Claim 3

Sawmill apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which said hinged clamp is operatively connected to the extensible member by a bar slidably mounted on the carriage for endwise movement longitudinally of said carriage.

Claim 4

Sawmill apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which said carriage comprises an elongated slide beam having a bore and a length greater than the maximum length of any log to be cut, said extensible member being an elongated slide bar slidably mounted in the bore of the slide beam.

Claim 5

Sawmill apparatus as claimed in claim 1, and including a log positioning mechanism near an end of the track operable to center a log in the common vertical plane of the clamps and to adjust the log vertically a selected distance above the track, said log positioning mechanism including a pair of centering rolls disposed one on each side of the track to extend parallel thereto, mounting means rotatably supporting the rolls for swinging movement towards and away from the center of the tracks as well as above and below a top edge of said track, operating means for selectively positioning the rolls with respect to the track, and drive means for rotating the rolls either towards or away from one another.

Claim 6

Sawmill apparatus as claimed in claim 4, and including a plurality of support arms arranged in row disposed one row on each side of the track, mounting means supporting each row of support arms for substantially horizontal movement towards and away from the center of the track, operating means for selectively positioning the rows or support arms with respect to the track, said support arms projecting through annular grooves formed in the pair of centering rolls and cooperating with said arms to manouver a log into the required position to be gripped between the clamps.

Claim 7

Sawmill apparatus as claimed in claim 5, and including a guide fence mounted alongside the track, and means for selectively adjusting the guide fence towards and away from the center of the track.

Claim 8

Sawmill apparatus comprising a track formed of a pair of guide rails, a carriage slidably mounted between the guide rails for endwise movement lengthside of the track, said carriage including a slide beam having a bore, a slide bar slidably mounted in the bore and projecting from one end of the slide beam, a fluid-operated mechanism below the track operatively connecting the slide beam to the slide bar whereby to extend and retract said slide bar, a fixed clamp mounted on the slide beam and projecting upwardly above the pair of guide rails, a hinged clamp mounted on the slide bar in opposition to the fixed clamp, spring means biasing the hinged clamp away from the fixed clamp, stop means limiting swinging movement of the hinged clamp away from the fixed clamp, means for supplying pressurized fluid to the fluid-operated mechanism whereby to apply the clamps to opposite ends of a log positioned above the track drive means for reciprocating the carriage through a cutting stroke and a return stroke relative to a cutting element disposed intermediate the length of the track and in close proximity to the path of travel of the clamps whereby to cut the clamped log lengthwise, and a log positioning mechanism near an end of the track operable to center a log in the common vertical plane of the clamps and to adjust the log vertically a selected distance above the track, said hinged clamp being adapted to fold beneath and travel lengthwise of a log supported by the log positioning mechanism and to again swing upright once clear of the log at the completion of the return stroke of the carriage.

Claim 9

Sawmill apparatus comprising a track formed of a pair of guide rails, a carriage slidably mounted between the guide rails for endwise movement lengthside of the track, said carriage including a slide beam having a bore, a slide bar slidably mounted in the bore and projecting from one end of the slide beam, a fluid-operated mechanism below the track operatively connecting the slide beam to the slide bar whereby to extend and retract said slide bar, a fixed clamp mounted on the slide beam and projecting upwardly above the pair of guide rails, a hinged clamp mounted on the slide bar in opposition to the fixed clamp, spring means biasing the hinged clamp away from the fixed clamp, stop means limiting swinging movement of the hinged clamp away from the fixed clamp, means for supplying pressurized fluid to the fluid-operated mechanism whereby to apply the clamps to opposite ends of a log positioned above the track drive means for reciprocating the carriage through a cutting stroke and a return stroke relative to a cutting element disposed intermediate the length of the track and in close proximity to the path of travel of the clamps whereby to cut the clamped log lengthwise, and a log positioning mechanism near an end of the track operable to center a log in the common vertical plane of the clamps and to adjust the log vertically a selected distance above the track, said hinged clamp being adapted to fold beneath and travel lengthwise of a log supported by the log positioning mechanism and to again swing upright once clear of the log at the completion of the return stroke of the carriage.

Claim 10

Sawmill apparatus as claimed in claim 7, in which said log positioning mechanism includes a pair of centering rolls disposed one of each side of the track to extend parallel thereto, mounting means rotatably supporting the rolls for swinging movement towards and away from the center of the track as well as above and below a top edge of said track, operating means for selectively positioning the rolls with respect to the track, drive means for rotating the rolls either towards or away from one another, a plurality of support arms arranged in rows disposed one row on each side of the track, mounting means supporting each row of support arms for substantially horizontal movement towards and away from the center of the track, operating means for selectively positioning the rows of support arms with respect to the track, said support arms projecting through annular grooves formed in the pair of centering rolls and cooperating with said arms to manouver a log into the required position to be gripped between the clamps.

Claim 11

Sawmill apparatus as claimed in claim 8, and including a guide fence mounted alongside the track, and means for selectively adjusting the guide fence towards and away from the center of the track.