Patent ID: 7547182

Claim:
A sticker placer configured to place stickers onto a layer of lumber accumulated from a lumber stacking device having a stacking mechanism that is configured to accumulate a layer of lumber, wherein a length of said lumber is oriented in a direction transverse to a direction of movement of the lumber, said sticker placer comprising: a plurality of slat holders arranged separate from the stacking mechanism of the lumber stacking device in complementary-operated pairs, wherein a length of each of the slat holders in each complementary-operated pair is arranged in a vertical plane that is transverse to the length of the lumber such that one slat holder passes above the other slat holder in the complementary-operated pair during operation of the sticker placer, and wherein the slat holders deliver the stickers to the layer of lumber during operation; a slat loader configured to transfer stickers to one or more of the slat holder pairs; a slat feeding device configured to supply slats to the slat loader; a plurality of slat holder arms arranged having a length that is transverse to the length of the lumber, wherein the slat holder arms move the slat holders in a forward direction toward the layer of lumber accumulated from the lumber stacking device and a rearward direction away from the layer of lumber accumulated from the lumber stacking device during operation of the sticker placer; one or more horizontal positioners for moving the slat holder arms in the forward and rearward directions; one or more vertical positioners for controlling a vertical position of the slat holders; and a control system for electronically controlling the operation of the one or more horizontal positioners and the one or more vertical positioners such that each slat holder in a complementary-operated pair can deliver a sticker to the layer of lumber at a different time than the other slat holder in the complementary-operated pair without interfering with the movement of the other slat holder.