Improvements in Wood Cutting Machines.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Oct., 1893-Accepted, 25th Nov., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by THE INTERNATIONAL WOOD WORKING
MACHINE COMPANY, of Passaic, New Jersey, United States of America.]
Improvements in Wood Cutting Machines.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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:
My invention relates to improvements in machines such as are adapted to cut
strips of veneer into blocks or smaller strips, and the object of my invention is to
produce a machine by which a continuous or long strip of veneer may be very rapidly
cut into small pieces of a uniform size and shape, which is also adapted to hold the
several pieces straight while they are in the machine, and which finally delivers
them upon a carrier adapted to convey them to a desired locality, preferably a
drier.
The machine, as shown in the accompanying drawings, is adapted to cut strips
of veneer into kindling wood such as is tied up into bundles, but it will be under-
stood that the machine may cut any other analogous articles such as pail, firkin or
barrel staves, shingles, or in fact, any articles which are of a substantially uniform
width and thickness.
To these ends my invention consists in a wood cutting machine, the construction
of which will be hereinafter described and claimed.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this
Specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in
all the views.
Figure 1 is a broken perspective view of a strip of veneer which is adapted to be
cut into small pieces by the machine;
Figure 2 is a central vertical section of the machine;
Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the same;
Figure 4 is a broken enlarged sectional view, showing in detail the construction
of the cutting drum, the manner in which the knives are fastened to the drum, and
one of the ejecting rollers arranged at the side of the drum ;
Figure 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view, partly in elevation, showing the
construction of the cutting drum and the detail construction of the ejecting
mechanism ;
Figure 6 is a detail inside elevation of the circular track in which the ends of
the ejecting rods are carried and the roller which extends into the path of the
rods;
Figure 7 is a vertical section on the line 7-7 in Figure 6 ;
Figure 8 is an enlarged detail perspective view of one of the cutting knives;
and
Figure 9 is a perspective view of one of the spacers which is inserted between
the knives.
The machine has a suitable and substantial frame 10, extending centrally and
horizontally through which is a driving shaft 11, the outer end of which is supported
in a suitable post 11 and the shaft is provided with tight and loose pulleys 12,
although any suitable driving mechanism may be employed. The shaft carries a
gear wheel 13 which engages a gear wheel 14 on a shaft 15, the latter being
arranged above and parallel with the shaft 11, and to it is secured the upper or
bearing drum 16 which is provided, on its face, with parallel grooves 17 adapted to
D17

page_text: receive the edges of the cutting knives which are carried by the lower drum, as
hereinafter described, and the upper drum is timed by means of the gearing just
described, so that the grooves 17 will register accurately with the knives.
The lower drum is larger preferably than the upper drum, and has a central
web 18 which terminates at the center in a hub 19 which is bolted or otherwise.
secured to the shaft 11. The outer portion of the web 18 merges into a flat bearing
face 20 upon which the cutting knives 21 are arranged. These knives rest with
their backs against the face 20 from which they radiate, and the knives are
preferably regularly spaced, although it is obvious that they may be irregularly
spaced if it is desired to cut different sizes of wood at the same time.
Each knife is provided on one side with a longitudinal groove 22, as best shown
in Figure 4, and between the knives are spacers 23 which hold the knives the
correct distance apart, and the spacers have on one side ribs 24 adapted to enter
the grooves 22 of the knives, and the knives and spacers are thus held firmly
together. The spacers are provided with holes 25 near the ends, through which
extend bolts 26, (see Figure 4,) by which they are bolted to the face 20 of the
drum, and the spacers have shoulders 27 at the ends and upon the outer sides on
which fit the outer flanges of the clamping rings 28. These clamping rings are
circular, as shown in Figure 5, and they fit firmly over the ends of the knives and
spacers, the knives having shoulders 21 at the ends which register with the
shoulders 27 of the spacers, and consequently the rings fit nicely upon the drum,
knives and spacers. The rings 28 have outer and inner flanges, as shown in
Figure 5, and they are bolted firmly to the face 20 of the lower drum.
It will be seen from the foregoing description that the knives are thus held in a
perfectly solid manner so that there is no chance for them to wriggle or work
loose.
The knives 21 project far enough from the face of the lower drum to permit the
severed wood to be forced between them and held between them, and the wood is
ejected by the ejecting rods 29. These rods extend transversely across the lower
drum and longitudinally between every pair of knives, there being preferably three
rods between each pair of knives, although a greater or less number may be used.
A plurality of rods between each pair of knives is desirable, however, as this
arrangement enables the rods to run smoothly over the ejecting rollers and to push
the material from between the knives in a positive and easy manner.
The rods 29 are longer than the width of the lower drum and they project
beyond the ends of the drum, and their ends are held to run in circular tracks or
grooves 30 which are produced in the plates 31, as best shown in Figures 6 and 7,
and the plates 31 are provided with bolt holes 32 which enable them to be securely
bolted to the ends of the frame 10 on the inner sides of the same and next the
lower drum. This arrangement is shown clearly in Figure 5, the ejecting rods with
one exception being omitted from this figure to clearly show the construction.
The tracks or grooves 30 describe a circle corresponding to the circle formed by
the face of the lower drum at the point where the ejecting rods 29 rest upon it, and it
will be seen that when the lower drum is rotated, the rods 29 will be carried around
with it, and the ends of the rods will pass smoothly through the tracks or
grooves 30. The tracks or grooves 30 are bent downward at the bottom, as shown
at 33 in Figure 6, and above this break in each groove is a casing 34 which is
produced on the inner side of the plate 31, and in this casing is journalled a roller 35,
the journal 36 of the roller being held to turn in a suitable box 37 which extends
outward through the adjacent portion of the frame 10, (see Figure 5), and the
journal is held in place by a nut 38 secured to its outer end.
The rollers 35 project a little below the normal circle of the tracks 30, as shown
in Figure 6, and consequently when tlie ejecting rods are made to pass beneath the
rollers are forced into the depressions 33 and this brings the rods to the outer
edges of the knives, as shown clearly in Figures 2 and 5, and this movement pushes
out the material which is held between the knives, and the material falls upon the

page_text: carrier beneath. It will be seen that this arrangement provides for an easy move-
ment of the ejecting rods, and the construction of the rollers and rods is very
durable and never gets out of order.
To prevent any accidental spilling or premature falling out of the several pieces
which are held between the knives, bands 39 are arranged just outside the edges
of the knives and on the back side of the machine, these bands having at their
upper ends a bevelled strip 39* which projects well beneath the upper drum 16, see
Figure 2, and the bands are held in place by cross pieces 40 which are fastened, as
shown at 41, to the frame of the machine.
The lower ends of the bands extend well below the lower cross piece 40, and
these ends have a slight spring action and are bent sharply downward, as shown
at 42, so as to deliver upon a carrier belt 43. These bands thus serve to prevent
the premature flowing out of the material between the knives, and the downward
bends 42 occur at a point just beneath that where the ejecting rods are pushed
downward, as shown clearly in Figure 2, so that the bands serve to straighten
the material and cause it to extend longitudinally across the carrying belt 43.
By this means the cut articles are delivered in a perfectly parallel position upon
the belt.
The belt 43 runs over a pulley 44 which is journalled on a shaft 45 beneath the
lower drum and on the back side of the machine, and the opposite end of the belt
extends over a suitable driving pulley not shown but which may be arranged at
any desired point. The belt runs between suitable guides 46 in the usual way, so
as to prevent any accidental spilling of the wood.
On the front of the machine and at a point nearly opposite the meeting portions
of the upper and lower drums, is a guide 47 having side flanges 47", and this guide
is pivoted on supports 48 secured to the main frame, as shown clearly in Figure 2.
The guide may be adjusted and held in place by a screw 48" and through the guide
is run the strip of veneer 49 which is to be cut.
When the machine is set in operation both drums revolve rapidly, and the strip 49
is fed through the guide 47 between the drums, and the movement of the knives 21
serves to pull in and feed the strip so that it is rapidly cut into small blocks or
sticks. These are held between the knives 21 until they reach the lower end of
the straightening bands 39, at which point the rods or ejectors 29 are pushed
downward by the wheels or rollers 35, and the cut wood is made to drop upon the
bent ends 42 of the bands 39 and is delivered straight upon the carrying belt 43.
It will be noticed that by this arrangement the wood may be very rapidly cut
and the strengthening bands and carrier keep it straight so that it is delivered in a
suitable condition for bundling.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is,-
1. A wood cutting machine, comprising a revoluble cutting drum having
projecting peripheral fixed knives, a revoluble bearing drum having grooves to
register with the knives of the cutting drum, and a plurality of ejectors held
between each pair of knives and arranged to move outwardly at a certain place
during the revolution of the cutting drum, substantially as shown and described.
2. A wood cutting machine, comprising a revoluble cutting drum having
projecting knives arranged around its circumference, a revolving drum serving as a
bearing for the knives, ejecting rods held between each pair of knives and having
their ends held to run in adjacent grooves, and bearing rollers pivoted adjacent to
the drum and arranged to engage the end portions of the ejecting rods and push the
rods outward to the edges of the knives, substantially as shown and described.
3. In a wood cutting machine, the combination with the revoluble cutting drum
having projecting knives around its circumference, of a plurality of ejecting rods
arranged between each pair of knives, and mechanism for pushing the ejecting rods
outward towards the edges of the knives, substantially as shown and described.

page_text: 4. The combination with the revoluble cutting drum and the projecting knives
arranged around its circumference, of a plurality of ejecting rods held between
each pair of knives and extending from the ends of the cutting drum, circular tracks
arranged to receive the ends of the rods, said tracks having outward bends therein,
and bearing rollers journalled opposite the bends in the tracks and adapted to press
upon the end portions of the ejecting rods, substantially as shown and described.
5. In a wood cutting machine, the combination with the revoluble cutting drum
and its bearing roller, of a carrier arranged beneath the cutting drum and extending
to one side of the same, ejecting mechanism for throwing the material from between
the knives of the cutting drum and straightening bands arranged at one side of 1
the cutting drum, the bands having their lower ends bent downward to form a chute,
which delivers upon the carrier, substantially as shown and described.
6. In a wood cutting machine, the combination with the cutting drum having a
flat bearing face, of knives arranged with their backs to the bearing face, spacers
arranged between the knives and having a dovetail or tongue and groove connection 1
therewith, and clamping rings secured to the sides of the drum and held to embrace
the ends of the spacers and knives, substantially as shown and described.
Dated this 24th dow of October 1893
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.