Weyerhaeuser Company Limited

Other

Earl D Hasenwinkle

Frank Wislocker

Ronald C Wilderman

John S Selby

Richard E Wagner

Kendall H Bassett

John W Kerns

Alkivadis G Dimakis

Robert H Young

Ron H Iff

Charles Blickenderfer

Perdelwitz, Jr, Lee E

Amar H Neogi

Ernesto M Pangilinan

Engineered structural wood products particularly useful in critical applications such as joists, headers, and beams where longer lengths, greater widths, and higher and predictable stress ratings may be required and to a method for making the wood products. Most logs by nature are radially anisotropic, having wood of higher density and stiffness in their outer portion adjacent the bark than is found in the inner portion. The logs are machined to segregate the denser, stiffer outer wood. A first generally rectangular component is formed from the less dense inner wood. Second generally rectangular components are formed from the stiffer outer wood. Second components are adhesively bonded to at least one edge of the first component, more usually to opposite edges. The stiffer wood is thus specifically placed where it will contribute most effectively to the properties of the product. The product is analogous to an I-beam in which the lower density first component serves as the web and the higher density second component as the flange portion The products can be handled in use in identical fashion to solid sawn lumber. They are characterized by much less variation in their stiffness than solid sawn visually or machine graded products and can be made in a wide range of width, thickness, and length.

Method for manufacture of structural wood products

The invention comprises engineered structural wood products particularly useful in critical applications such as joists, headers, and beams where longer lengths, greater widths, and higher and predictable stress ratings may be required. The invention is also directed to a method for making the wood products. Most logs by nature are radially anisotropic, having wood of higher density and stiffness in their outer portion adjacent the bark than is found in the inner portion. The logs are machined to segregate the denser, stiffer outer wood. A first generally rectangular component is formed from the less dense inner wood. Second generally rectangular components are formed from the stiffer outer wood. Second components are adhesively bonded to at least one edge of the first component, more usually to opposite edges. The stiffer wood is thus specifically placed where it will contribute most effectively to the properties of the product. The product is analogous to an I-beam in which the lower density first component serves as the web and the higher density second component as the flange portion The products can be handled in use in identical fashion to solid sawn lumber. They are characterized by much less variation in their stiffness than solid sawn visually or machine graded products and can be made in a wide range of width, thickness, and length.

Engineered structural wood products

Pet pads contain insecticide and have at least one layer comprising a mixture of thermoplastic and other fibers. This latter layer may be thermobonded together and then densified along at least a section of the eventual peripheral edge margin of a pet pad to be formed from the material. By including insecticide in the mixture prior to thermobonding, the insecticide is fixed in the pad during thermobonding. Thermoplastic material-containing cover sheets may also be secured to the core and densified along the periphery of the pad. The entire eventual peripheral edge margin of the pet pad is typically densified. The densified edge acts as a partial liquid barrier and also helps retain the insecticide in the pad, especially if the insecticide is not fixed by thermobonding.

Pet pad of thermoplastic containing materials with insecticide

A landscape timber building module is constructed preferably from a solid piece of wood with a predetermined length and width. At least two flat opposed, substantially parallel surfaces, have a plurality of uniformly spaced holes extending therethrough. Each end of the module is curved with a radius extending from approximately the centerline of the second hole inwardly from the end. The individual modules are then used, preferably after being treated with a preservative compound, as building elements to form composite landscaping structures. Individual modules are interconnected by the use of pin connectors inserted through aligned holes in the modules.

Landscape timber building module

The present invention is the combination of a linebar and saw assembly for sawing cants or logs having various amounts of sweep in order to maximize the yield. The linebar is conformable between a straight line and a line which approximates an arc of a circle. Both ends of the linebar are positioned relative to the saw so that one end is essentially adjacent to the center of the saw. Both ends of the linebar always remain on the line defined by the linebar when it is in straight line position. A tangent to the end of the linebar adjacent to the saw is always parallel to the plane defined by the saw. The saw is skewable about the point of intersection of the end of the linebar with a line drawn from the centerline of and normal to the plane of the saw. A mechanism for bending the linebar and skewing the saw completes the invention. Using this invention the linebar can be configured into an arc which approximates the sweep curvature of a cant or log being sawn. As the linebar is bent the saw is skewed to maintain parallelism with the line of tangency. The invention is particularly well adapted for use in sawmills where space is limited and where there may not be room to use a variable curve linebar which is deflected only at one end. Improvements of lumber recovery to about 20% are achieved by sawing around the curve as compared with processing similar sweepy cants by straight line sawing.

Variable curve linebar with skewable saws

The present invention comprises the combination of an elongated curved linebar with at least one saw. This arrangement enables 'sawing-around-the-curve' so that increased recovery can be obtained from cants or logs having significant amounts of sweep. The linebar is positioned so that a tangent at the end adjacent to the saw is parallel to the plane of the saw. The linebar is preferably curved so that it approximates the average curvature of the cants or logs being fed to the saw. An auxilliary straight line bar, which is normally out of contact with an incoming cant, may alternatively be moved into position when the incoming cant is relatively straight sided.

Fixed curve linebar

A crowding lug transfer conveyor system has an infeed and an outfeed end with a primary conveyor surface serving to a convey pieces therebetween. A plurality of lugs, each slideably mounted on a lug chain, are held at the infeed end and then released ahead of an incoming piece. An upstanding member on the lug is above the plane of the primary surface and the lug body is below the plane. A predetermined body length establishes the spacing and crowding distance at the outfeed end. Escapement mechanisms serve to release individual lugs on command both at the infeed and outfeed ends. At the outfeed end a plurality of lugs and pieces may be accumulated and spaced with the pieces then being metered in a singulated controlled manner. Caliper blocks in the lugs serve to grasp the lug chain when a lug is released with the lug chain continuously passing through the caliper blocks when the lug is being held in place awaiting release.

Crowding lug transfer conveyor system

The present invention is a linebar assembly for guiding a cant or log into a saw. It comprises a flexible linebar which can be bent from a straight-line configuration to one approximating a circular arc having a minimum radius of about 30 m. The linebar can be configured into a circular arc which approximates the curvature of a cant or a log having sweep as great as about 100 mm in 5 m of length. The cant is fed into the saw along a circular path to achieve significantly higher lumber recovery. Extended tests have shown that this recovery will be 20-30% greater than that obtained using conventional straight-line sawing methods without any reduction in grade recovery.

Variable curve linebar

A log sawing and transport system for relatively small logs 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 are 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. Once the log has been divided into a plurality of sector-shaped pieces, an outfeed device collects the elongated sector-shaped pieces and transports them out of the system.

Log transport and sawing system

A process for making composite lumber products from generally cylindrical logs includes the steps of cutting a log radially into a plurality of first sector-shaped pieces having similar included angles and then preferably drying the sector-shaped pieces. After drying, the sector-shaped pieces are preferably machined to provide flat surfaces for subsequent gluing and rejoining steps. The sector-shaped pieces are then divided into at least two members where each plane of cut will be substantially parallel to the chord base plane with at least one of the resulting members having a thickness substantially equal to the thickness of the final composite lumber. At least two of the resulting members, substantially equal in thickness, are then rotated and bonded together along juxtaposed edges into a composite planar piece. Additional members substantially equal in thickness can be alternately rotated and edge bonded to the composite piece thereby forming wider widths. Alternate members in the composite piece can have the taper reversed longitudinally if a higher lumber yield is desired. The wide width composite pieces can then be rip cut longitudinally to yield pieces of the desired width. A finger jointing process and final surfacing can be applied to the composite lumber. The resulting composite lumber is generally flat grained over the two wider faces and each resulting piece will have at least one inclined glue line throughout its length.

Log cutting and rejoining process for lumber manufacture

An edging system for machining the opposed rough edges of a workpiece into a parallelogram having the optimum angle of cut has an upstream sensing station to detect the maximum available width in order to remove the least amount of material. At the edging station a pair of laterally adjustable opposed cutter heads are mounted on a rotatable frame so as to have both the lateral distance between cutter heads and the angle the cutter heads make with respect to the top and bottom surfaces of the workpieces variable. Suitable conveying surfaces transport the workpiece into, through, and away from the edging station.

Improved edging system

A process and machine are disclosed that function to convey a pair of elongated sector shaped pieces where each piece has substantially the same smaller included angle. Upper and lower conveyancing channels are supported on a framework and have a common longitudinally extending adjustable support means whereby sector pairs of varying included smaller angles may be readily oriented and then conveyed. Suitable holding means are provided for constraining each sector piece in its conveyancing channel as they are conveyed longitudinally toward the outfeed end of the machine.

Machine for conveying sector shaped pieces

A process for making composite lumber products from generally cylindrical logs includes the steps of cutting a log radially into a plurality of first sector-shaped pieces and then cutting from the sector-shaped pieces at least two members where the cutting plane is substantially perpendicular to one of the radial faces of the sector-shaped pieces. Then one resulting smaller sector-shaped piece is reversed with respect to a resulting quadrilaterally-shaped piece and the two pieces having a substantially similar width dimension are adhesively bonded together. The composite members thusly formed are then machined into a desired shape or additional joining steps can be performed to increase dimensional size. Thus from a cylindrical log composite lumber is produced resulting in improved lumber yield.

Log cutting and rejoining process

A process for making composite lumber products from generally cylindrical logs includes the steps of cutting a log radially into a plurality of sector-shaped pieces, rejoining two of the cut pieces by bonding them together along opposed radial faces such that the thin edge of one is approximately adjacent the thick edge of the other and then machining the bonded pair into a desired shape. The sector pair can be machined into a rectangle or a parallelogram. A plurality of compatible parallelograms or rectangles can then be edge bonded together into wider planar shapes after which the wider composite member can be rip cut longitudinally to selected widths. A method is described for proper sizing of the sector pieces depending upon log size and desired thickness of the composite lumber product. Taper is captured by reversing longitudinally one sector piece of each pair prior to bonding. The resulting composite product has many improved characteristics and offers a vertical grain pattern over its wider dimension. Greatly increased lumber yields result when manufacturing lumber products according to the present process, especially when converting smaller diameter logs.

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Puyallup, WA, United States of America

Earl D Hasenwinkle