Patent ID: 7490641

Claim:
An optimizing planer system comprising: (a) a control system; (b) a workpiece feed path; (c) an optimizing planer operably coupled to the control system, the optimizing planer located along the workpiece feed path and having an entrance, for receipt of a rough workpiece, and an exit, for discharge of an at least partially finished workpiece, the optimizing planer having a cutting element; (d) a workpiece interrogator situated along the workpiece feed path upstream of the entrance and operably coupled to the control system so to provide the control system with workpiece property information for each workpiece entering the optimizing planer; (e) the control system constructed to provide the optimizing planer with control information based upon the workpiece property information for each workpiece; and (f) the optimizing planer constructed to move at least one of the workpiece and the cutting element as the workpiece passes through the optimizing planer according to the control information for each workpiece, wherein said control system determines an optimized cross-sectional profile for planing by said optimized planer for each workpiece interrogated by said interrogator based upon said workpiece property information so as to optimize said planing of each said workpiece by said optimizing planer, and wherein said control system adjusts the cross-sectional location of said optimized cross-sectional profile along the length of a workpiece to optimize both workpiece-to-workpiece cross-sectional profiles between adjacent workpieces on said feed path and the cross-sectional profile within a single workpiece.