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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7227165 | System and method for classification of timber The present invention provides a system and a method to grade a piece of wood and simultaneously to classify this piece of wood by allowing an examination of four longitudinal faces thereof, so as to determine optimal specifications for a subsequent use thereof such... | 06/05/2007 |
| 7075424 | System for damage location using a single channel continuous acoustic emission sensor A sensor array for non-destructively monitoring a structure to detect a critical structural event. The sensor array includes a plurality of discrete sensor nodes, each of the discrete sensor nodes producing an electrical signal in response to a structural event. A s... | 07/11/2006 |
| 6738148 | Upper stem diameter measurement and basal area determination device and method for utilization in timber cruising applications An upper stem diameter measurement (“USDM”) and basal area determination device for timber cruising operations incorporates a viewing window in which are projected variable, visual brackets for manual alignment by the user, or automatic setting under processor s... | 05/18/2004 |
| 6633046 | Method and apparatus for detecting that two moveable members are correctly positioned relatively to one another The correct handover position between the gripper and the e-chuck is located using a light source and a 2-D photosensor. As the e-chuck is in the loading position it can be driven forwards or backwards in the beam direction by rotating the main whisper sc... | 10/14/2003 |
| 6624883 | Method of and apparatus for determining wood grain orientation A laser scanning system for determining wood grain orientation has been developed. The system employs a polarizer for separating the emergent laser light from the reflected laser light to decrease the laser image noise, a variable voltage source for inten... | 09/23/2003 |
| 6618155 | Method and apparatus for scanning lumber and other objects Disclosed herein are TV Camera based and other electro-optical sensors and systems, providing affordable methods and apparatus for high speed determination of dimensions and other features of objects. Particular embodiments capable of fast and reliable ac... | 09/09/2003 |
| 6466305 | High speed laser triangulation measurements of shape and thickness This application is concerned with laser triangulation sensors for object dimension and position determination, and in particular, more effective measurement of object shapes and/or thickness using laser triangulation sensors having multiple projected las... | 10/15/2002 |
| 6305448 | Lathe charger To make coincide cutting centers of two end surfaces of raw wood with the axis of spindles of a veneer lathe, at least two axial corrections which are performed in a state in which the raw wood is held by centering spindles are required. Conventional appa... | 10/23/2001 |
| 6182725 | Method for timber harvesting and system for forestry A method and system for forestry, in particular harvesting by means of a harvesting machine comprising a vehicle and a harvesting arrangement mounted thereon, is based on the fact that at least one position determining device (5) capable of determining th... | 02/06/2001 |
| 6116306 | Method and apparatus for positioning log blocks on optimum center in lathe charger for transfer to veneer lathe A method and apparatus for positioning a log in a lathe charger for transfer to a veneer lathe for peeling in which the geometrical centerline of the log is first determined by sensing the log in an at-rest position with light sensors or mechanical sensor... | 09/12/2000 |
| 6100986 | Arrangement for optic measuring of both width and thickness of an object moving along a straight path A device for touchless measuring of thickness and width of an object travelling along a straight path, based on the use of CCD video camera and laser. The device, by means of installed cameras, laser(s) and two parabola-shaped mirrors, measures both thick... | 08/08/2000 |
| 5949086 | Method and device for measuring the characteristic quantities of a log The object of the invention is a method and apparatus for measuring the characteristic quantities, such as e.g., the length, diameter, volume, and defects of a log (1) or similar in which method the log (1) is moved at a known speed past a photographing s... | 09/07/1999 |
| 5905567 | Method and apparatus for optimizing sub-pixel resolution in a triangulation based distance measuring device An apparatus for optimizing sub-pixel resolution in a triangulation based target distance measuring device at a desired stand-off distance has a laser light source projecting a light beam along a light beam axis so as to project a light spot onto a surfac... | 05/18/1999 |
| 5680219 | Device for optical measurement of width/thickness A device for automatic, contactless and optical video measuring of the dimension of one or more objects at rest or being conveyed parallel along a straight path. In the measuring system a CCD video camera (5) through two parabola-shaped mirrors (3, 4), in... | 10/21/1997 |
| 5627635 | Method and apparatus for optimizing sub-pixel resolution in a triangulation based distance measuring device An apparatus for optimizing sub-pixel resolution in a triangulation based target distance measuring device at a desired stand-off distance has a laser light source projecting a light beam along a light beam axis so as to project a light spot onto a surfac... | 05/06/1997 |
| 5274244 | Method and apparatus for detecting bark and for determining the degree of barking on wood and chips The present invention relates to a method and to an apparatus for detecting the presence of bark and for determining the barking degree of wood or chips. Accordingly, the apparatus includes a light source (12) which directs a concentrated light beam (14) ... | 12/28/1993 |
| 5254859 | Sawmill method and apparatus with edge scanning means A flitch or cant is successively transported by a pair of differentially operated clamps, first to a scanning station, and then to a sawing station where the wane is removed. A series of flitches are processed in this manner such that as the wane edge fro... | 10/19/1993 |
| 5142158 | Cant dimension readere using moving light source After cutting of a cant, it is conveyed in a direction perpendicular to the long dimension of the cant against a pair of pin stops. A photo-diode array is positioned across the width of the cant adjacent one end of the conveyor and cant. The pins are alig... | 08/25/1992 |
| 4926917 | Feed speed and guide arm control for sawing logs A feed speed control for band saws avoids overfeeding and underfeeding of logs or cants to allow higher initial input feeds and takes into account varying cutting depth throughout a log or cant length. The method comprises the steps of positioning a log o... | 05/22/1990 |
| 4887219 | Board cut-off saw assembly A board cut-off saw apparatus 10 is described for enabling cut-off saw operator to cross cut boards along their length to obtain usable wood pieces and to remove or discard defective sections. The apparatus 10 includes a plurality of cut-off saw lines 26 ... | 12/12/1989 |
| 4827142 | Method and system for optically testing sawn timber for faults In a timber testing apparatus, use is made of an optical process, in which there is a linewise scanning of the timber surface at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the timber. If an optical detection apparatus (18) indicates a fault, the partic... | 05/02/1989 |
| 4803371 | Optical scanning method and apparatus useful for determining the configuration of an object An optical scanning system illuminates the object to be scanned with non-coherent light and laser light simultaneously. A photodetector camera views the object and produces a single output signal indicative of the magnitude of non-coherent light and laser... | 02/07/1989 |
| 4555633 | Photoelectric dimension measuring system A method and a device for indicating the presence of an object in a measuring zone (E), and for objects having a measurable cross-sectional shape, also the extent of the object along a reference line (R). The method and device makes use of lines (A, B) of... | 11/26/1985 |
| 4515196 | Log handling and sawing system A sawmill in which a multi-log supporting mechanism is constructed wherein logs are grasped at spaced angular positions about the mechanism and rotated by it between an initial receiving position to a profile measurement position and then to a sawing posi... | 05/07/1985 |
| 4461575 | Reference marker/correlation scheme for optical measurements An optical measurement technique enables optical signal processing apparatus to eliminate the effects of environmental noise during scanning of a workpiece, wherein successive optical slices through the workpiece are obtained. The image samples derived by... | 07/24/1984 |
| 4398580 | Veneer lathe log charger system having enhanced accuracy and rate of production A veneer lathe charger system utilizing automated equipment for scanning and positioning a log to obtain optimum production of veneer therefrom. The charger has mechanical features specially designed to provide a degree of accuracy in the physical manipul... | 08/16/1983 |
| 4397343 | Log scanning in veneer lathe to determine optimum yield axis Apparatus is disclosed for scanning a log with light or other electromagnetic radiation while such log is rotated by the spindles of a veneer lathe to determine its optimum yield axis and for positioning the log with positioning arms to align such optimum... | 08/09/1983 |
| 4383560 | Lathe charger having directionally limited adjustment of scanning spindles A veneer lathe charger apparatus is disclosed for scanning a rotating log with light to determine its optimum yield axis and adjusting the charger spindles through a greater range necessary for large diameter logs to position such axis at a predetermined ... | 05/17/1983 |
| 4335763 | Veneer lathe charger having improved positioning for charger spindles A veneer lathe charger apparatus is described having an improved charger spindle positioning system which is less vulnerable to damage, is of simpler construction and is of faster operation. The charger spindle positioning system includes spindle support ... | 06/22/1982 |
| 4308461 | Method and apparatus for measuring timber A method and an apparatus for determining the location of a piece of timber having a flat top surface and two unfinished side surfaces or determining the width and location of its flat top surface is described. The piece of timber is subjected to radiatio... | 12/29/1981 |
| 4301373 | Scanning of workpieces such as lumber cants An array camera used to scan elongated workpieces moving through a measuring zone transversely to their lengths has its photoresponsive detector elements aligned lengthwise of the workpieces, with optical axes of the elements lying in a common plane inter... | 11/17/1981 |
| 4300836 | Electro-optical scanning system with self-adaptive scanning capability A scanner profiling system for locating and "mapping" a selected "feature" in a three-dimensional object, which "feature" is nearest with respect to a defined datum plane. The system includes a laser-distancing-instrument (LDI), and a cooperating motor-dr... | 11/17/1981 |
| 4246940 | Veneer lathe charging apparatus and method for determining log spin axis A veneer lathe charging apparatus includes a break-beam scanning system and a computer for determining an optimal log spin axis. The charging apparatus further includes charger arms independently operable and adjustable to transfer a log from a scanning s... | 01/27/1981 |
| 4221973 | Linear array signal processing circuitry for locating the midpoint of a source of light Circuitry for locating the mid-point of a spot of illumination on a time-base-scanned linear photodetector (photodiode) array. With each scan, the array produces, from the illuminated photodiodes, a pulse made up of individual "pixils" having different di... | 09/09/1980 |
| 4197888 | Log centering apparatus and method using transmitted light and reference edge log scanner A log centering apparatus and method are described employing an optical log scanner for determining the longitudinal axis of the log for optimum wood product production by transmitting light to detectors through the space between the side of such log and ... | 04/15/1980 |
| 4196648 | Automatic sawmill apparatus A cant or plank is moved forwardly on a conveyor system, where its irregular leading lateral edge is measured by a plurality of fixed scanners. In response to measurement of the cant, conveyor movement is altered for orienting the cant relative to a fixed... | 04/08/1980 |
| 4186310 | Automatic wane detector Plural scanners are employed for detecting the surface features of a wood cant preparatory to sawing the cant into one or more boards. A scanner includes a radiation detector disposed above the cant on the wane side thereof, and a radiation source below t... | 01/29/1980 |
| 4179707 | Automatic measurement of lengths of elongated workpieces A conveyor defines a plane in which elongated workpieces, substantially parallel to one another, are transported transversely to their lengths through a measuring zone at which each workpiece is illuminated from above and lengthwise scanned by an array ca... | 12/18/1979 |
| 4086496 | Method for optically measuring a cant to locate the narrowest flat side and its boundaries and manufacturing lumber therefrom A method for optically measuring an elongate timber cant, regardless of whether in upright of inverted orientation, said cant having top and bottom substantially flat, mutually parallel surfaces separated by longitudinal wanes and having a generally trape... | 04/25/1978 |
| 3997269 | Scaling apparatus with linearization compensation Scaling apparatus for measuring the dimensions of an article, such as a log, including a two-dimensionally curved parabolic mirror for viewing an article, and a constant-speed, rotary, electro-optical scanner located at the focal point of the mirror for s... | 12/14/1976 |
