Patent ID: 7275571

Claim:
A method for locating an optimum peeling axis of a log and a maximum radius point on a peripheral surface of the log with respect to said optimum peeling axis on the basis of information of a peripheral profile of the log which is rotated about a preliminary axis thereof for at least one complete turn, comprising the steps of: computing an optimum peeling axis of the log on the basis of radial distances of the log from said preliminary axis to the peripheral surface of the log at a plurality of predetermined locations spaced along said preliminary axis of the log at each of a plurality of predetermined angularly spaced positions of the log; providing a plurality of swingable members which are pivotally mounted on a shaft having a longitudinal axis extending in parallel with said preliminary axis of the log and having flat contact surfaces each having a width extending along said longitudinal axis, each of said contact surfaces being swingable with the swingable member relative to a reference position which is defined by an imaginary plane extending through said preliminary axis and said longitudinal axis while in contact with the peripheral surface of the log thereby to follow the peripheral profile of the log being rotated about said preliminary axis; measuring an angular position of the contact surface of each swingable member with respect to said reference position at each of said predetermined angularly spaced positions of the log by said swingable member; computing radial distances of the log from a plurality of predetermined locations on said computed optimum peeling axis to selected contact surfaces along imaginary lines extending perpendicularly to said preliminary axis on the basis of the measured angular positions of the contact surfaces; and comparing said computed radial distances and recognizing the distance having the greatest value as the maximum radius point of the log.