Patent ID: 8752711

Claim:
A system for sorting elongated random width wood boards and preparing board rows having a row width within a predetermined width range, each one of the boards defining a board longitudinal axis, said system comprising: a main longitudinal surface for supporting the boards, said main longitudinal surface having an entry and an exit, the main longitudinal surface having a longitudinal direction; a conveyor for conveying the boards transversally to and on the main longitudinal surface from the entry to the exit, the board longitudinal axis of each one of the boards being conveyed at substantially a 90° with respect to the longitudinal direction of the main longitudinal surface; a width detector to detect each of the boards that is conveyed on the main longitudinal surface and generate a width detecting signal for each of said boards; accumulating compartments located one after the other under the main longitudinal surface, each having an entrance and an exit; controllable traps located on the main surface, associated respectively with the accumulating compartments, each of the traps being movable between an opened position providing access to the entrance of the corresponding accumulating compartment and a closed position allowing the boards to be supported, each of the controllable traps having a length which is perpendicular and at substantially a 90° with respect to the longitudinal direction of the main longitudinal surface; controllable gates for selectively blocking and unblocking the exits of the accumulating compartments, thereby boards accumulated in any of the accumulating compartments are selectively retained therein and released therefrom; and a controller operatively connected to the width detector, the traps and the gates, the controller having an input for receiving the width detecting signal for each of the boards from the width detector and having outputs for sending control signals to the controllable traps in response to the width detecting signal to selectively distribute each of the boards into the accumulating compartments, and for sending other control signals to the controllable gates of the accumulating compartments to release the boards accumulated therein when a sum of the widths of the boards accumulated is within the predetermined width range.