Patent ID: 8020594

Claim:
A debarking mechanism comprising: a plurality of rotatable debarking shafts parallel to an advancing direction of logs moving through the debarking mechanism, each of the debarking shafts pivotably mounted on end plates, wherein the debarking shafts are between the end plates; each of said debarking shafts provided with a plurality of teeth extending radially outwardly from a peripheral surface of each of the debarking shafts, wherein said teeth are arranged to strip bark off the logs and move the logs transversely to longitudinal axes of the logs, and said teeth convey the logs transversely to the shafts in a log advancing direction through the debarking mechanism, the debarking shafts form at least a part of a support surface of the debarking mechanism wherein the support surface includes a lower portion and a sidewall portion, wherein: (i) the debarking shafts support the logs travelling through the debarking mechanism, (ii) an upper debarking shaft of the plurality of debarking shafts has a longitudinal axis offset from a plane including the longitudinal axes of the other debarking shafts of the plurality of debarking shafts, and (iii) the debarking shafts each rotate about their longitudinal shaft axis, wherein the logs on the debarking shafts are rotated and moved upwardly within the debarking mechanism by the rotary motion of the debarking shafts; an opposing support surface opposite to the sidewall portion of the support surface, wherein the logs in the debarking mechanism are between the opposing support surface and the support surface, and the offset of the longitudinal axis of the upper debarking shaft is towards the opposing support surface; an open-ended chute for the logs having a first sidewall and a bottom surface which are at least partially formed by the debarking shafts, the chute includes an opposite sidewall including the opposing support surface, wherein the logs are parallel to and between the first sidewall, bottom surface and the opposite sidewall when in the chute; wherein two or more of the debarking shafts each rotate at a rotational speed greater than a rotational speed of a lower one of the debarking shafts, wherein the two or more of the debarking shafts are at a higher elevation than the lower one of the debarking shafts; and a bark passage in the first sidewall which is above the uppermost debarking shaft allows bark to be discharged from the chute and blocks the logs moving through the bark passage.