Patent ID: 6988438

Claim:
An active sawguide assembly, used to actively position a plurality of saws along a saw drive arbor, the saw drive arbor defining a saw axis, comprising: a set of sawguides mounted to one another to create an array of sawguides having laterally-abutting lateral sides means for actively laterally translating said array along a lateral path; and means for actively simultaneously pivoting each said sawguide about its own sawguide axis so that said lateral sides slide over one another, said means for actively simultaneously pivoting each said sawguide including a steering structure, wherein each of the sawguides in said array of sawguides has opposed, flat, contacting sliding surfaces, and wherein said sawguides are mounted onto an elongate member oriented parallel to the drive arbor, and wherein said means for actively laterally translating said array includes means for biasing the array of sawguides against said steering structure secured to said elongate member, and wherein said means for actively simultaneously pivoting each said sawguide includes said steering structure and wherein said steering structure is pivotally mounted to said elongate member for pivotal movement about a steering structure axis.