Improvements in or relating to Wood-slicing and Splitting Machines.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Mar., 1895-Accepted, 27th Apr., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Wood-slicing and Splitting
Machines.
A communication from EDUARD EUGEN BIRKNER, of the Firm Eugen
Birkner & Co., Manufacturers, of Crimmitzschau, Saxony, in the Empire
of Germany.
I ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to wood-cutting machines.
The machine, which is the object of this present invention, has for its object the
performance of such operations as cutting up of forest-logs into fire-wood. This
takes place in the following manner;-)
-From the bottom of a log or billet of wood
fed into the hopper-body of the machine, is cut a plate by a knife working in
guides, which plate passes then under a cutter, which cuts it into strips (small
sticks or blocks) fit for use in the household.
In the accompanying drawings;-
Fig. 1 is a plan, and
Fig. 2 an elevation of the machine ;
Fig. 3 represents the cutter-head with the feed roller; and
Fig. 4 shows the details of the knives in the cutter-head.
In straight guides a moves a knife e driven by the shaft b, crank c, and connecting-
rod d, in a horizontal plane, to and fro. In its forward movement i.e. towards the
right of the drawing the knife e passes through a slot in a hopper f of the framing
of the machine, iuto which hopper have been introduced the logs or billets which
are to be cut up into firewood. The block of wood so introduced (but not shown
in the drawing) is laid in such manner as to offer an end-section to the knife, so
that the subsequent cut is made in the direction of the grain. Below the plane in
which the knife travels there are two sliding bars g and k which serve to carry the
block of wood at the time of the cut. During the cut one of these bars 9 is drawn
backwards out of the hopper by the connecting rods and the crank pin cam
discs towards the driving-shaft b; the other bar k is pushed away from the
hopper by the push-rods which are affixed to the cross-bead of the knife e and
strike against the ends of the arms & prolonged to g so as to meet them when the
knife has been thrust forward sufficiently far in making the cut. Springs m, unite
the two sliding bars g and k, allow them, when thus moved in contrary directions,
to pull against each other so as to draw each other back to their original places
when the separating forces cease to act. The same result may be attained by an
arrangement of separate springs for each sliding bar, i.e. the result that the two
bars are after separation drawn in from each side into the hopper f. The curvature
of the crank-pin cam discs i limits the shifting of the barg; while the movement
of k is limited by the end of the groove in which it travels.
Thus, in the drawn-back position of the knife (see drawing Fig. 1) both the
sliding bars are at the inner limits of their travel so as to support the wooden billet
or block. As the knife is pressed forward into the block the bar g is first drawn
out of the hopper, and this is followed by the drawing back of the bar k, and the
severed section or plate of wood drops downward turning on the edge at k; but
the billet or block cannot drop as it is carried upon the knife a.
On the return

page_text: stroke, when the knife has returned so far that the push-rods have quitted the
slide-bark and left it free, the bar k first returns to its place, and later on, but
before the knife has been withdrawn quite out of the hopper f, the bar g resumes
its former position. Then, the billet once more rests upon the bars 9 and k.
g
Underneath the hopper-body fis placed the inclined plane n down which the piece
or section cut from the billet slides into the grasp of two rollers o and p, which are
specially illustrated in Fig. 3, and are driven from the main shaft b by means of a
belt. The roller p serves as feed roller, being provided for that purpose with rows
of projecting points which are pressed into the wood.
Upon the roller o, however, are mounted, with interposed dises o¹, a number of
circular disc-formed knives o2. Owing to the direction in which the wood-section
coming from the severed block presents itself to the rollers it is cut by the rotating
knives o of the roller o into strips parallel with the grain. By taking out and
exchanging the interposed discs o' for others of different dimensions in thickness
the breadth of the severed and dissected strips or sticks can be regulated at will.
A rake or comb g (Fig. 2) projecting with its teeth between each pair of blades on
the roller o prevents the strips from lodging between the knives and being carried
round with the roller.
Furthermore, in order to prevent the severed wood segments from sticking fast
between the knife-blades, the following device or arrangement is adopted ;-The
knives and interposed discs which, between the endmost discs o³, are held fast upon
the shaft so as to turn always therewith are not tightly pressed together. But
inside the endmost discs o³ fixed on the shaft are inserted strong springs of (Fig. 4)
which permit the knives and interposed discs to have a slight axial or endwise
motion, so that the knife discs may be slightly displaced.
The roller p is carried in adjustable bearings so that the distance between the
centres of the two rollers may be altered and regulated as required.
On the other hand, the thickness of the piece severed from the billet at each
stroke of the knife may be regulated in the following manner, vizt., by using cross-
bars g and k of various thicknesses; so that a greater or lesser distance may be
obtained at will between the bottom of the billet and the underside of the
knife-blade.
In the machine as described there are other alterations which may be made ;
e.g. the conveyance of the severed piece to the rollers o and p may be effected by a
toothed endless web of lattice work, suitably driven or by a swinging plate in lieu of
the fixed inclined plane herein before described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is ;-
1. In a machine for cutting up billets of wood the combination with a hopper of
a reciprocating guided knife such as e reciprocating supports such as g and k feed
roller p cutting roller o and mechanism for operating in proper relationship the
moving parts of such machine substantially as and for the purposes described.
2. In a machine such as is claimed in the first claiming clause circular knives
such as o² so arranged as to be capable of slight axial movement substantially as
and for the purposes described.
3. In a machine such as claimed in the first claiming clause a cutting roller o
constructed substantially as and for the purpose described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
4. A wood-cutting machine substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 19th day of March 1805
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.