Improvements in and relating to Machinery or Apparatus for Handling Logs in Saw Mills.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Mar., 1891-Accepted, 18th Apr., 1891
CUMPLLIE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Machinery or Apparatus for
Handling Logs in Saw Mills.
I, FLAVEL SIMONSON, a Citizen of the United States of America, of No. 426,
Cass Street, in the City and County of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, one of
the United States of America, Lumberman, 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:-
The invention relates to machinery for handling logs in saw-mills; and it
comprehends mechanism whereby a log may be lifted from the skids, pushed on to
the mill-carriage, drawn from the carriage after a slab has been cut off, turned, and
again placed upon the carriage; all these various movements being accomplished
through the operation of a single lever. The invention also comprehends a log-
stop, for holding in check all the logs on the skids except the one to be placed on
the carriage.
Referring to the accompanying drawings-
Figure is a perspective view of the invention, in which the log lifting and
turning mechanism is shown as actuated by steam power, this view showing one of
the skids with one of the log stops attached, the opposite skid being broken away
in such manner as not to show the other log-stop carried by it.
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the invention as adapted particularly for
operation by water power, the log-stops, one of the skids, and the log-carriage
being omitted and a portion of the mill-floor broken away.
In Figure 1, A, is the mill floor, upon which the machine is set; B, the skids ;
C, a rock-shaft, mounted in pillow-blocks, c; and, D, the carriage head-blocks,
only one being shown.
E, E', are the push-arms, keyed or otherwise rigidly secured on the rock-shaft, C.
On the push-arm, E, there is formed a quadrant, e, for a purpose which will be
explained farther on. This quadrant is slotted annularly, as at 1, and peripherally,
as at 2. Inside of the annuiar slot is placed a metal block, 3, which is adjustably
secured therein by bolts, 4, provided with nuts, 5.
F, F, are the hook-arms, in this instance cast integral with a hub, f, having a
lateral lug, 6, on each end; and integral with the hub there is cast a quadrant, e, in
all respects similar to the one on the push-arm, E. This hub is mounted loosely on
rock-shaft, C, between two collars, G, keyed upon the shaft, with the lugs on the
hub lying within recesses, 7, cut in the inner ends of the collars. These recesses
are of greater width than the lugs; and the collars are so adjusted on the shaft
that when the hook-arms are down in the position of rest the upper walls of the
recesses will bear upon the upper edges of the lugs.
In the upper ends of hook-arms, F, F, is pivoted the hook, H, which, when
down, rests on a block (not seen in Figure 1, but shown and lettered, 4, in Figure 2)
secured between the arms. The butt of the hook is bifurcated, and the branches
are pivoted at, 8, to the arms, F, F. On each branch of the hook-butt there is
formed a lateral lug, 9, which lugs ride freely over the upper rounded ends of
arms F, F, as the hook descends, but contact with the backs of said arms when the
hook is elevated, thereby preventing it from being tilted over backward by a sudden
jar. For the purpose of causing the hook to disengage itself from the log when
the latter has been turned to the desired position, we provide it with a horn, h', in
front of the hooked portion, 3. This horn is somewhat shorter than the hooked
portion, and has a blunt end, which, on coming into contact with the log, will carse
the hooked portion to be lifted out of engagement with the latter.
I, represents the lifting-bars, pivoted at their rear ends to standards, I', the
forward ends of the bars resting on cams, J, keyed on the rock-shaft, C.

page_text: K, K, are two oscillating steam-cylinders, connected respectively with two
steam chests, L, L', by pipes, 10, 11, and 12, 13, the chests being supplied with
steam from any suitable source. The piston rod, M, of cylinder, K, is pivoted to
push-arm, E, and the piston-rod, M', of cylinder, K', is pivoted to the hook, H,
at 14, eccentric to the points of pivotal attachment of the hook to its arms.
N, N', are the valve stems of the engines, each of which is made in two pieces,
these being connected by a right-and-left screw-threaded sleeve, n; and each stem
is provided with a tee-head, 15, which lies horizontal in the annular slot in one of
the quadrants, e, the stem, N, connecting with the quadrant on the push arm, and
the stem, N¹, connecting with the quadrant on the hub of the hook-arms.
O, is a shaft, suspended underneath the mill-floor in hangers, o, to one end of
which shaft is pivoted the operating-lever, P, which extends up through the floor;
and on the other end of this shaft there is rigidly secured a crank, O', to which is
pivoted one end of a rod, Q, which passes up through the floor and is pivoted at
its other end to an arm, R', secured on the valve-stem, N¹. On the valve-stem, N,
is secured another arm, R, similar to the one on stem, N¹%; and to this arm is
pivoted one end of a rod, S, whose other end is pivoted to one arm of a bell-crank, T,
underneath the floor. Another rod, U, is pivotally connected to the other arm of
this bell-crank and to the operating-lever, P.
In rapid-working mills it is usual to keep several logs upon the skids; and in
order to present them singly to be operated on we employ the log-stop above
mentioned, and which we will now describe.
To each of the skids on its inner side, is attached a metal plate, V; and between
this plate and a short standard, v, is pivoted at 16 the stop, W, which is made
preferably of malleable metal and in the form shown-that is to say, the bar from
which it is formed is bent so that the portion in front of pivot 16 will curve upward
and rearward, this portion, which normally extends some distance above the top of
the skids, being sharpened, and the portion in rear of the pivot is bent so as to
incline toward and rest normally on the floor. Each stop (it being understood
there is one attached to each skid) has a wave or ogee curve 17 in its under side,
near its pivotal point, for a purpose hereinafter explained.
✗, represents a stop-lock, (there being one for each stop,) which consists of a
lever, a, provided at its rear end with an acute-angled arm, 18, and at its front end
with an obtuse-angled arm, 19, said lever being pivoted between the plate, V, and
the standard, r, by a pivot-bolt, 20, passing through its rear end at the junction
therewith of the arm 18. When the apparatus is at rest the upper end of this
arm 18, abuts under and against the convex portion of the curve 17 in the under
side of the stop, W, so that said arm then stands forward of the pivotal point of
the stop, and directly in the line of pressure on the stop, whereby the stop is firmly
held against rocking on its pivot. It will be noticed that when arm 18 is in the
position above described its upper end stands forward of its own pivotal point, and
the pressure that is put upon it, through the stop, W, firmly holds the stop-lock
lever, a, down on the pin 21 in plate, V.
is
Y, represents a rock-shaft, mounted in bearings, 22, secured to the under side of
the floor; 23, arms rigidly keyed on said shaft; and 24, links pivoted to the outer
ends of arms, 23, and to the lever portions, x, of the stop-locks, X. Shaft, Y, i
rocked to unlock the stops by means of a foot-bar 25, pivoted at its lower end,
beneath the floor, to an arm, 26, rigidly secured to said shaft, the upper end of the
foot-bar extending up through the floor in a position convenient to the operator.
The construction of the machine as adapted for the direct application of steam
power having been described, I will now state its operation.
The operator lets down one of the several logs on the skids by pressing on the
foot-bar 25, thus rocking shaft, Y, which movement, through arms, 23 and links, 24,
raises the arms 19 of the stop-locks, X, thereby throwing arms, 18, backward, the
upper ends of said arms moving in the concave portion of the arm, 17, until they
pass beyond the pivotal points of the stops, W, when the stops will be free to be
canted by the log as it rolls forward on the skids. In the backward swinging

page_text: movement of the arms, 18, the arms, 19 will be thrown upward, so that their upper
ends will be above the tops of the skids. Then as the log rolls over and past the
stops, W, the latter will by gravity resume their normal positions, as the heaviest
portion of each stop is in rear of the pivotal point. As the log rolls over arms, 19,
they will be depressed, thereby rocking shaft, Y, back into its normal position and
re-setting the locking-arms, 18.
Before letting the log down, however, the operator must provide for cutting off
steam at the proper times. To do this he first turns the rock-shaft, C, so that the
quadrant, e, will be down and the tee-heads of the valve-stems at the upper ends
of the slots, 1, after which he centres the valves by lengthening or shortening the
valve-stems by means of the sleeves, n.
He next turns the rock-shaft so as to
bring the quadrants up, which movement closes the valves; and finally he adjusts
the quadrant-blocks, 3, against the tee-heads of the valve-stems.
Now assume that the rock-shaft, C, is turned so as to bring the cams, the push-
arms, and the hook-arms into a horizontal position, with the hook down between its
arms, and that a log rests upon the skids directly over the lifting-bars, I, when, as
will be evident from the foregoing description, all the valve-ports will be closed.
The operator, who is presumed to be facing the log-carriage, now pushes lever, P,
to the right, which opens one of the valve ports in steam chest, L, and admits steam,
through pipe, 11, to the rear end of cylinder, K (the continuation of pipes 11
and 13 are not seen in the drawings, but the former extends to the rear end of
cylinder, K, and the latter extends to the forward end of cylinder, K', in a manner
corresponding to the arrangement of pipes 12 and 10), forcing its piston-rod forward
and rocking shaft, C, forward, when the cams will raise the lifting bars, and thus
lift the log clear of the skids, by which time the push-arms, E, E', will bear against
the log and push it onto the head-blocks of the carriage; and by the time the log
is properly placed the quadrant, e, on arm, E, will have reached a position to cause
the valve-stem to centre the valve in chest, L, and also to throw lever, P, back to
its normal position. While this movement of the push-arms to place the log upon
the head-blocks is going on, the operator pushes lever, P, forward, which rocks
shaft, O, forward, thereby opening one of the ports in steam-chest, L', and admitting
steam, through pipe 12, to the rear end of cylinder, K', forcing its piston-rod
forward, thereby raising the hook-arms, F, F, and throwing the hook up into
position to engage with the log, after which he reverses the lever to open the other
port in chest L, and admits steam, through pipe 13, to the front end of cylinder, K',
which results in drawing the hook down into the log, and then, as the hook is at
the same time being drawn backward, the log, resting against the lifting bars, and
push-arm, will be turned to the desired position, by which time, the hook no longer
having a hold upon the log, the hook-arms and hook will fall back to their normal
positions. The operator now pushes lever, P, to the left, and thereby admits steam,
through pipe, 10, to the forward end of cylinder, K, to rock shaft, C, and its
attached push-arms and cams back into their normal positions of rest.
Thus far the described operation applies to a round log; but we will now
assume that a slab has been cut off and it is desired to turn the log for another
cut. The operator first moves lever, P, to raise the lifting-bars and push-arms,
after which he raises the hook-arms and hook. He then reverses both engines
simultaneously, drawing the log off from the head-blocks of the carriage and
onto the skids, and in doing this the log is given a quarter turn, when the hook
releases its hold and the hook-arms drop, as before stated. Next, he admits
steam to the rear end of cylinder, K, thus rocking shaft, C, forward, raising
the log and pushing it back into place upon the head-blocks; and finally he
rocks shaft, C, back into a position of rest.
The machine shown in Figure 2 is the same in its general characteristics as
the one above described-that is to say, the lifting-bars, the push-arms, and the
hook are all automatically actuated through the movements of a single lever,
the principal modification being only in the actuating mechanism, whereby the

page_text: machine is adapted for use in water mills, and also in steam mills where the
direct action of steam is not desirable.
In the present instance, wherein the same letters and figures of reference as are
used in Figure 1, are employed to designate corresponding parts, the rock-shaft, C,
the push-arms, E, E', the hook-arms, F, F, the hook, H, the lifting bars, I, and
the cams J, are the same as in the machine above described, except that the hook-
arms have no hub working loosely between fixed collars and provided with a
quadrant, but are secured directly on the shaft; and also that the push-arm, E, has
no quadrant.
The mechanism for operating this machine may be described as follows:
a, is a power-shaft, provided with a band-pulley, 27, connected with any suitable
motor, this shaft being supported in hangers, 28, depending from the floor, and
capable of longitudinal movement in the hangers. This shaft also carries two
beveled friction wheels, 29 and 30, which are adapted to be thrown into gear
alternately with a like friction-wheel, 31, on a shaft, b, supported in hangers, 32,
and carrying two toothed pinions, 33 and 34.
, and j, are bars for operating the shaft and the hook respectively, the bar, i,
being pivoted to push-arm, E, while bar, j, is pivoted to hook, H, at 14, which is
eccentric to the points of pivotal attachment of the hook to its arms. These bars
are provided with rack-teeth for a portion of their length, adapting them to engage
with pinions, 33, 34; and these toothed portions are T-shaped in cross-section,
being flanged on their upper sides at 35 for a purpose presently to be described.
k, is a rocking yoke, pivoted centrally to a bracket, 36, secured to the under
side of the floor. Each end of the yoke has a T-shaped slot, 37, to receive the
flanges 35 on bars, i, j; and the yoke is provided centrally with a bifurcated
arm, 38.
1, is a rod supported in hangers, 40. The ends of this rod are cranked, as
at 41, 42, the crank, 41 engaging the bifurcated arm 38 on yoke, k.
m, is a link, one end of which is journaled on the crank 42 of rod 2, its other end
being pivoted to the operating lever, P.
n, is a transverse rod, supported in hangers (not shown). One end of this rod is
pivoted to the lower end of lever, P, and its other end is provided with a
crank, 43.
P1, is a metal plate, pivoted at its upper end to a bracket 44, secured to the
under side of the floor. This plate is slotted at 45 to partly pass over a disk, 46,
on the forward end of the power shaft; and below this slot there is another slot, 47,
to receive crank, 43, on rod, n.
This modified machine operates as follows: Assume the parts to be in the
positions shown and the power shaft moving in the direction indicated by the arrow.
The hook is now ready to drop and engage the log supposed to be on the head-
blocks of the carriage, (not shown). Now the operator moves lever, P, rearward,
which rocks rod, n, thereby swinging plate P¹, forward, which, through the
engagement of disk 46, with said plate, moves shaft, a, forward, throwing wheel 29
into engagement with wheel 31, thus turning shaft, b, backward. This movement
draws hook, H, down into engagement with the log, draws the log off from the
head-blocks and onto the skids, and turns it, by which time the push-arms, E, E¹,
have fallen to near a level with the lifting-bars, I. The operator then pushes
lever, P, forward, so as to throw wheels, 30, and 31, into gear, which causes the
push-arms to be moved forward, pushing the log back onto the head-block, the
hook in this movement releasing its hold on the log and rising to the position
shown. Lever, P, is now brought to a perpendicular, in order to throw all the
friction wheels out of gear and stop the machine. Then the operator moves lever, P,
to the left, or away from the machine, thus, through link, m, rocking rod, l, and
yoke, k.
As the yoke is rocked, rack-bar, j, is raised out of mesh with pinion, 34,
and rack-bar, i, is forced down into mesh with pinion 33. Then lever, P, is moved
to the rear, throwing wheels, 29 and 31, into gear, so as to run the rack-bars

page_text: backward and pull the push-arins and hook-arms and hook down into a position
below a level with the lifting-bars, I. As these parts are drawn down into this
position it is apparent, that, as rack-bar, j, is free of its pinion, 54, it would slide
backward at once, and thus permit the hook to fall back onto the log, were there
no provision for arresting this sliding of that bar. It will be noticed, however,
that, as the yoke is not in a level position, the bar, j, is subject to considerable
friction in moving through the slot in the yoke, this friction being sufficient to
overcome the backward pressure exerted by the weight of the hook when in the
position shown. By the time, however, that the hook arms have arrived at about
a horizontal position, the gravity of the hook will overcome that friction, bar, j,
will slide backward, and the hook will fall down onto the block, h.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
:―
1. In saw-mill machinery of the class described, the combination, with the skids,
of a rock-shaft located between the skids, push-arms and cams rigidly secured on
said shaft, pivoted lifting-bars resting on the cams, a hook-support carried by the
shaft, a hook pivoted to said support, a shaft-actuating bar or rod pivoted to one
of the push-arms, a hook-actuating bar or rod pivoted to the hook at a point
eccentric to the point of pivotal attachment of the hook to its support, an operating-
lever, and mechanism under control of said lever for actuating the shaft and hook
at will.
2. In sawmill machinery of the class described, the combination, with the rock-
shaft and a hook-support mounted on said shaft, of a hook having a horn on its
curved end for causing the hook to release its hold on a log, and mechanism for
operating the hook.
3. In sawmill machinery of the class described, the combination, with two skids,
of a log-stopping apparatus, comprising a pivoted stop carried by each skid, a lever
pivoted beneath the pivot of each of said stops and provided with an arm bearing
normally against the stop to lock it, and mechanism to rock the lever and unlock
the stop, substantially as described.
4. In sawmill machinery of the class described, a log-stopping apparatus
comprising two skids, a stop and a lever pivoted to the inner side of each of the
skids, the lever being provided with a locking-arm and a resetting-arm, a shaft,
arms fixed on said shaft, links pivoted to the outer ends of said arms and to the
levers, a foot-bar, and an arm rigidly secured to the shaft at one end and pivoted at
its other end to the foot-bar, substantially as described.
5. In sawmill machinery of the class described, the combination, with the rock-
shaft bearing rigidly-attached cams and push-arms, mechanism for rocking the
shaft, and pivoted lifting-bars operated by said cams, of a hook-support loosely
mounted on the rock-shaft, a hook pivoted to the hook-support, stops secured on
said shaft for limiting the movements of the hook-support, and mechanism for
turning the hook-support upon the shaft and operating the hook, substantially as
described.
6. In sawmill machinery of the class described, the combination, with the rock-
shaft bearing rigidly-attached cams and push-arms, mechanism for rocking the
shaft, and pivoted lifting-bars operated by the cams, of two recessed collars rigidly
fixed on the rock-shaft, two hook-arms joined at their lower ends to a hub loosely
mounted on said shaft between the collars, the hub having lugs resting in the
recessed portions of the collars, a hook pivoted between the upper ends of the
hook-arms, and mechanism for turning the hook-arms upon the shaft and operating
the hook, substantially as described.
7. In sawmill machinery of the class described, the combination, with the
skids, the rock-shaft, hearing rigidly-attached cans and push-arms and a loosely-
mounted hook support, a hook pivoted to said support, and pivoted lifting bars
operated by said cams, of two steam cylinders, each having a piston rod, one

page_text: pivoted to the hook and the other pivoted to one of the push-arms, a steam-chest
for each cylinder, provided with an adjustable valve-stem, two quadrants upon the
rock-shaft, with which the valve-stems are connected, and lever mechanism for
operating the valves, substantially as described.
Dated this 17th dox of Monah 1901
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents..